He is a recognized astronomer who wanders the corridors of the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse this week. In costume, the badge of the National Order of the Lion hanging on the jacket, Maram Kairé madeaccess to astronomy for allin Senegal, his fight.
“When I was little, I dreamed of stars and the sky. When I asked my father for my first telescope, he told me no, we’re not going to put money in that. This creates a lot of frustration, you dream of stars, you spend your nights looking at the sky, but people don’t listen to you.”he says.
His parents feared that by going into astronomy, he would not get a job in Senegal. He then took off for France and studied engineering, before returning to Senegal in 2006. The astronomer founded an association and a space bus: “It is the largest astronomical popularization campaign carried out on African soil. For a month, with a team of 45 people, we crossed the Senegalese villages, we mobilized the schools.”
Inside, activities around astronomy are proposed. “It’s the best way to reach all populations,” confides Maram Kairé. “In the evening, the students return to observe the stars. A young Senegalese must be able to dream of being an astronomer, astronaut, engineer, and have the chance to follow this vocation in his own country and to be trained.”
An asteroid is named after him
At 46, the scientist coordinated three NASA missions to Senegal. He also became the president of the first Senegalese space studies agency. In 2021, its name was given to an asteroid. “When people told me ‘no, you won’t do astronomy’, I didn’t imagine that my name would one day be given to an asteroid in the solar system,” he says. At the beginning of July, satellites, built by Senegalese engineers, are to be launched.
Maram Kairé participates with 300 astronomers, experts and scientific journalists in the congress of the International Astronomical Union. It takes place at the Cité de l’Espace all week. This congress brings together the international community of the field around questions on the mediation and popularization of astronomy. This is the first time that France has welcomed him.
