Why do space travel make us dream so much?

• NASA plans step by step the return of men to the Moon, with in particular the Artemis III mission planned for 2025, which will allow a crew to stay six days on the satellite.

• SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is also aiming for a trip to the Moon with his Starship rocket in 2025, and even plans to send the first humans to Mars in 2029.

• We surveyed our readers to understand where this passion or disinterest in space comes from.

The first step of man on the Moon, the adventures of our hero Thomas Pesquet, or the crazy dreams of Elon Musk... When it comes to talking about our galaxy and all the possibilities available to us , we often have stars in our eyes.

But where does this interest, this fantasy for space come from?

For most of us, no doubt, it goes back to childhood.

"Traveling to the Moon would interest me, because I took my first step on Earth the day Neil Armstrong landed his on the Moon, July 21, 1969," recalls Marc, one of the readers who responded to our call for evidence.

For the others, the discovery of this parallel world was made through readings and films.

Marjorie remembers, for example, the epics of Tintin in

and

, which fueled her imagination.

Then, later, the discovery of a mythical place: "I visited NASA when I was younger", which aroused in her a "fascination" for space.

Sandrine has also been passionate about space exploration since a very young age: "The SF (science fiction) series of the time such as

,

and

allowed me to dream and hope one day to set foot on the Moon or a distant planet.

Loïc, "too young to have experienced the advances from 1969 to 1977", also grew up with science fiction novels, space exploration and all the scientific and fictional universe that revolves around it.

However, he does not hide that "leaving the earth through a rocket, spending a few days in orbit, or seeing the vacuum of space", is rather an "unrealizable dream" on his side.

But, who knows?

“Relativize our existence”

After childhood memories come adulthood and deeper thoughts about the world around us.

Sandrine sees in the exploration of space a way of “putting our existence into perspective”.

“Perhaps meeting other forms of biological life, […] rediscovering ourselves as explorers and not as conquerors, learning new physical and astrophysical data… It's just brilliant!

she exclaims.

Mikaël himself quotes Blaise Pascal's famous maxim to evoke what the universe represents in his eyes: “The eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me.

He who sees in space “an inexhaustible source of mystery” is “convinced that a person who is not interested in astronomy is someone who has never asked philosophical questions.

Finally, Laurent is more pragmatic: “It doesn't excite me at all.

I think it's a waste of much needed money elsewhere.

That is what is said.

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