In his welcoming speech, Eric Maurincomme, INSA Lyon Director, quoted André Brahic's latest book "Science, an ambition for France", advocating science and research as the bases for the innovation and growth of tomorrow: "[...] To love science is to reinforce humanism [...] Research, education and culture must be the absolute priorities of an advanced country. [...] Let us rekindle the dialogue between science and society, between France and its researchers!"

As an introduction, Aymeric Bonnet (5GMD) presented the innovating concept of a spatial telescope he worked on during his final internship at the Saclay CEA. This item, entitled "When engineering meets astrophysics", was also the opportunity to demonstrate which activities could be carried out by an INSA-GMD engineer in the field of astrophysics. Worth highlighting was the return of Gilles Durand, inventor of the TALC spatial telescope and Aymeric's internship tutor: "We are delighted with Aymeric's work and the CEA Astrophysics Service continues to work with him on his final year project. André Brahic often says engineers and inventions are the engine of growth. The concept of our telescope is a disruptive technology that takes part in this dynamic."

The evening carried on for over three hours, with André Brahic whose enthralling words on science and astronomy, brightened by his own special touches of humour, captivated and led his audience on a journey to the ends of the solar system. The conference was a great success leading to a lot of positive feedback and we wish to thank André Brahic once more for having come to share this wonderful evening under the stars.

¹ Brahic, André. "La science, une ambition pour la France". (Science, an ambition for France) Paris: Odile Jacob, 2012.