Claude Nicollier and Marco Sieber met on Thursday in Lausanne on the EPFL campus for a show entitled “From Switzerland to the Moon”. The two astronauts met with classes in the afternoon, before interacting with the general public in the evening.
ATS
This unique meeting, organized by the company SwissApollo, was designed to celebrate Claude Nicollier’s 80th birthday and look back on the highlights of his professional career, notably marked by four space flights.
At the SwissConvention Center, the Vaudois shared the stage with his “successor” Marco Sieber, whose first appearance in front of the general public since his induction as an astronaut last April. The exchanges between the two men were punctuated by musical interludes, provided by the group Swiss Band.
In addition to Claude Nicollier’s 80th birthday, this evening allowed us to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his last space flight, on December 19, 1999. Interviewed by Keystone-ATS on the sidelines of the show, the Vevey resident spoke of a “very strong burst of memories.” .
He remembered this final space flight, which allowed him to carry out his first spacewalk. Lasting eight hours, it notably consisted of repairing the Hubble space telescope. “A very strong, intense and difficult moment, but also filled with happiness,” he recalled.
Proud of his successor
Claude Nicollier also spoke of his relationship with Marco Sieber, praising “his talent and his determination”. He expressed his “joy” at seeing the 35-year-old from Bienne take up the torch and ensure Switzerland a new presence in space. “Having a successor as brilliant as Marco allows me to leave the profession more easily,” he admitted.
For his part, Marco Sieber explained that Claude Nicollier had always been “an idol”. He said that it was one of his friends, when he was being selected to join the European Space Agency (ESA), who told him to contact the Vaudois. “I wrote him an email and he replied. It touched me that he took time for me,” he recalled.
Even if he has not yet been able to fly into space, Marco Sieber wants to create vocations among young Swiss people, as Claude Nicollier did with him. “I hope that Switzerland will not have to wait another 25 years before having a third astronaut,” he concluded.
