US embassy cable - 05PARIS901

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000901 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/SAT, EUR/WE, EUR/RPE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: TSPA, PREL, FR 
SUBJECT: FRENCH PRESIDENT CHIRAC PLEASED WITH U.S.- 
EUROPEAN SPACE COOPERATION 
 
1.  (U) Summary:  On February 9, 2005, the USEP 
Space Attache/NASA European Representative (NER) 
joined a European Space Agency (ESA) delegation to 
brief French President Jacques Chirac on the 
successful deployment of the European Huygens 
probe on the surface of the Saturn moon, Titan. 
Chirac warmly received the delegation and thanked 
NASA for its contributions to the mission.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (U) On February 9, 2005, the USEP Space 
Attache/NASA European Representative (NER) joined 
a European Space Agency (ESA) delegation which met 
with French President Jacques Chirac at the Elysee 
Palace.  Chirac requested a briefing on the 
successful deployment of the ESA Huygens probe on 
the surface of Saturn's moon, Titan.  The 
delegation was headed by Jean-Jacques Dordain, 
Director General, ESA, and included:  David 
Southwood, Director, Science Program, ESA;  Jean- 
Pierre Lebreton, Mission Scientist; Pascale 
Sourisse, President and CEO, Alcatel Space; Daniel 
Gautier, Head of Research, Center for Scientific 
Research, Astronomer, Observatory of Paris-Meudon, 
developer of the Huygens Mission; Roger-Maurice 
Bonnet, former Head of the Science Program, ESA, 
President of COSPAR; Marcello Fulchignoni, Paris- 
Meudon Observatory; Guy Israel, Atmospheric 
Research; and, Franois Raulin, University of 
Paris.  Francois d'Aubert, Minister of Research, 
joined the meeting. 
 
3.  (U)  The Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn is 
a cooperation between NASA, the European Space 
Agency, and the Italian Space Agency.  The Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), designed, developed 
and assembled the Cassini orbiter.  Cassini was 
launched October 15, 1997, on a Titan 4 rocket 
from Cape Canaveral, Florida.  Cassini entered 
Saturn orbit July 1, 2004, and the Huygens probe, 
developed by ESA, was successfully deployed on the 
surface of Titan on January 14, 2005. 
 
4.  (U)  Chirac was gracious, interested, and 
engaged; he stayed with the delegation and 
listened attentively for an hour and a half. 
Dordain, speaking on behalf of the delegation, 
described in broad terms the mission and its 
significance for Europe and European space.  He 
was generous and straightforward in his praise for 
the cooperation with NASA, thanking the U.S. for 
the ride to Saturn and the ensuing tracking 
support during the Huygens probe descent. 
 
5.  (U)  Chirac evidenced keen interest, and 
inquired of both Dordain and NER if it was correct 
to say that the mission was truly a successful 
joint international endeavor.  All concurred. 
Members of the del were unanimous in their praise 
for the support provided by NASA, and cited the 
Cassini-Huygens cooperation as an example for the 
future.  ESA ended the presentation with a chart 
that encouraged "exploration together," and 
emphasized the importance of international 
cooperation for future space exploration 
initiatives. 
 
6.  (U)  Dordain concluded by noting that 
President Bush had set forth "The Vision for U.S. 
Space Exploration" and that ESA was already 
engaged in exploration of the solar system, 
pointing to  Rosetta, Mars Express, and Huygens, 
as examples.  Chirac did not appear to be familiar 
with the details of the President's Vision, but 
listened with interest as the broad outlines of 
The Vision were explained. 
 
7.  (U)  In conclusion, Chirac thanked the del for 
taking time from their important work to brief 
him.  In his follow-up remarks to the press, 
Chirac noted the importance of the Huygens success 
for Europe's space endeavors, expressed his hope 
that this and similar successes in space would 
help to stimulate interest among young people in 
Europe for science and engineering careers, and 
highlighted the importance of international 
cooperation in space exploration. 
 
8.  (U)  In a personal aside to NER, Chirac 
expressed his pleasure for the successful 
international space cooperation, and thanked NASA 
for its efforts on behalf of international 
cooperation and understanding.  NER presented 
Chirac with a NASA pin emblematic of continuing 
cooperation in space. 
Leach