“Space agencies need to rely on science fiction to justify their monstrous spending”: The Martian myth through the ages

Matt Damon in Ridley Scott's "The Martian" (2015). EVERETT/AURIMAGES

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"The fullness and height of happiness for man," said Seneca, "is to […] soar into the heavens and penetrate the most hidden recesses of nature. With what satisfaction, from the midst of these stars where his thoughts soar, he laughs at the mosaics of our rich, and at our Earth with all its gold […]. " Stoic philosophy still inspires many astronomers, in their ongoing quest for the best view of the sky and its stars. This is true even when they are members of parliament. Arnaud Saint-Martin, 46, elected representative of La France insoumise (LFI) for Seine-et-Marne, always takes the time to pull out his telescope in his house in Cher. "It's an incredible moment: you're alone, in silence, facing the stars, facing nature, and you start to philosophize." » Silence today interspersed with exchanges with his 11-year-old daughter, converted to astronomy, and listening to podcasts by astrophysicist Françoise Combes.

A research fellow at the CNRS and attached to the European Centre for Sociology and Political Science (Bourdieu's legacy), Saint-Martin intends to lay the foundations of a "sociology of space" at the intersection of history and the examination of power relations. "Space is a field where many a…