Riyadh Space Fair Paves Way for Generation Interested in the Universe

An astronaut suit on display at the fair.
An astronaut suit on display at the fair.
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Riyadh Space Fair Paves Way for Generation Interested in the Universe

An astronaut suit on display at the fair.
An astronaut suit on display at the fair.

The Riyadh City Royal Commission launched on Sunday the Riyadh Space Fair, a first-of-its-kind event displaying models of rockets launched from space shuttles and the equipment used on space missions.

Also featured are astronaut suits, pressure and oxygen measuring devices, and food and beverage preservation equipment.

The Fair offers visitors of all ages the chance to enjoy interactive educational experiences and learn about space hands-on. Visitors can expect to learn about the relationship between man and the universe, explore the secrets of space, and learn about the immense recent achievements that have greatly enhanced man’s understanding of the universe.

The Fair is home to seven stations for live experiences that offer fun, adventure, and a wealth of information.

Visitors are taken on a gripping journey in which they learn about the development of astronomy, cosmology, and modern scientific theories about the nature of the universe through entertaining and informative games, interactive simulators like “Walk on Mars.”

They can also experiment with techniques used to study the universe, such as telescopes, satellites and others. Visitors will have all their questions about space answered in interactive sessions about space and its wanders.

Haifa Al-Idrisi, who runs the Fair, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the exhibition seeks to provide an introduction to anyone without a background in space.

“We also hope that the experience will open the doors of space science to young people, whom the exhibition will inspire to enter these fields.”

The fair is being held at the King Salman Science Oasis and runs until February 20.

Saudi Arabia intends to expand its space science research by launching the Saudi Space Commission, which will qualify and train Saudis and launch flights into space, the first of which will take off this year.



Olympic Balloon to Rise again in Paris

The iconic symbol of the 2024 Paris Olympic will take to the skies during France's annual street music festival, the Fete de la Musique. Thomas SAMSON / AFP
The iconic symbol of the 2024 Paris Olympic will take to the skies during France's annual street music festival, the Fete de la Musique. Thomas SAMSON / AFP
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Olympic Balloon to Rise again in Paris

The iconic symbol of the 2024 Paris Olympic will take to the skies during France's annual street music festival, the Fete de la Musique. Thomas SAMSON / AFP
The iconic symbol of the 2024 Paris Olympic will take to the skies during France's annual street music festival, the Fete de la Musique. Thomas SAMSON / AFP

A giant balloon that became a popular landmark over the skies of Paris during the 2024 Olympics is set to rise again, with organizers hoping it will once again attract crowds of tourists.

During the Games, the Olympic cauldron tethered to a balloon flew above the Tuileries garden at sunset every day, with thousands flocking to see the seven-meter (23 feet) wide ring of electric fire, AFP said.

Last summer's version "had been thought up to last for the length of the Olympic and Paralympic Games," said Mathieu Lehanneur, the designer of the cauldron.

After President Emmanuel Macron "decided to bring it back, all of the technical aspects needed to be reviewed", he told AFP on Thursday.

Lehanneur said he was "very moved" that the Olympic balloon was making a comeback.

"The worst thing would have been for this memory to become a sitting relic that couldn't fly anymore," he said.

The new cauldron will take to the skies on Saturday evening during France's annual street music festival, the Fete de la Musique.

The balloon will rise into the air every evening until September 14 -- a summer tradition set to return every year until the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

"For its revival, we needed to make sure it changed as little as possible and that everything that did change was not visible," said Lehanneur.

With a decarbonated fire patented by French energy giant EDF, the upgraded balloon follows "the same technical principles" as its previous version, said director of innovation at EDF Julien Villeret.

The improved attraction "will last ten times longer" and be able to function for "300 days instead of 30", according to Villeret.

The creators of the balloon also reinforced the light-and-mist system that "makes the flames dance", he said.

Under the cauldron, a machine room hides cables, a compressor and a hydro-electric winch.

That system will "hold back the helium balloon when it rises and pull it down during descent", said Jerome Giacomoni, president of the Aerophile group that constructed the balloon.

"Filled with 6,200 m3 of helium that is lighter than air," the Olympic balloon "will be able to lift around three tons" of cauldron, cables and attached parts, he said.

The Tuileries garden is where French inventor Jacques Charles took flight in his first gas balloon on December 1, 1783, Giacomoni added.

He followed in the footsteps of the famed Montgolfier brothers, who had just nine days earlier elsewhere in Paris managed to launch a similar balloon into the sky with humans onboard.

The website vasqueparis2024.fr is to display the times when the modern-day balloon will rise and indicate any potential cancellations due to weather conditions.