Passing of Jean-Jacques Favier, the first French scientist in space
Research
On March 28, 2023
Selected by NASA as a Physicist for a manned flight aboard the Columbia shuttle in June 1996, Jean-Jacques Favier, a former student engineer and PhD student from Grenoble, passed away on 19 March. His exemplary scientific career, which began in Grenoble, and his experience in space will continue to inspire future generations.
For 16 days, 21 hours and 48 minutes, from June 20 to July 7, 1996, Jean-Jacques Favier lived in space aboard the shuttle Columbia. During his mission he was responsible for more than 30 Physics experiments and participated in a dozen human physiology experiments as a subject.
At the invitation of Université Grenoble Alpes and the Grenoble University Space Center (CSUG), he was eager to share this extraordinary mission with a packed lecture in 2016 in the large Louis Weil amphitheater (900 seats), before a captivated school audience.
In September 1992, he was selected as a reserve astronaut for Columbia's STS-65 mission, from 8 to 23 July 1994. Then, in 1995, he was designated as a payload specialist for the LMS (Life and Microgravity Spacelab) experiment during the STS-78 flight of the shuttle Columbia, which carried the Spacelab laboratory; he spent 16 days, 21 hours and 48 minutes in orbit, from 20 June to 7 July 1996, thus becoming the first French scientist to have stayed in space.
After his career as an astronaut, Jean-Jacques Favier became involved in research and education. In particular, he contributed to the collaboration between the Clément Ader-Albi Institute and the CNES team in charge of the SpaceShip FR project, whose objective is to develop research means and technologies for the preparation of a future lunar and/or Martian base. He was also an honorary professor at IMT Mines Albi. Jean-Jacques Favier is a Knight of the Legion of Honor.
At the invitation of Université Grenoble Alpes and the Grenoble University Space Center (CSUG), he was eager to share this extraordinary mission with a packed lecture in 2016 in the large Louis Weil amphitheater (900 seats), before a captivated school audience.
"A scientist in space". Jean-Jacques Favier during his lecture at the Weil Amphitheatre in 2016.
An exemplary scientific and space career
Born on 13 April 1949 in Kehl, Germany, Jean-Jacques Favier entered the Ecole nationale supérieure d'électrochimie et d'électrométallurgie (now Grenoble INP - Phelma, UGA) in 1971. In 1977, he obtained a PhD in Engineering from the Ecole des Mines de Paris and a PhD in Physics and Metallurgy from the Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1, now Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA).
Jean-Jacques Favier aboard the shuttle Columbia during mission STS 78 © CNES, 1996
Jean-Jacques Favier, a research engineer at the CEA, was selected in September 1985 as an experimental astronaut by the CNES. He quickly established strong ties with the CNES human spaceflight teams as scientific manager of the MEPHISTO space oven, which flew several times on the American space shuttle.In September 1992, he was selected as a reserve astronaut for Columbia's STS-65 mission, from 8 to 23 July 1994. Then, in 1995, he was designated as a payload specialist for the LMS (Life and Microgravity Spacelab) experiment during the STS-78 flight of the shuttle Columbia, which carried the Spacelab laboratory; he spent 16 days, 21 hours and 48 minutes in orbit, from 20 June to 7 July 1996, thus becoming the first French scientist to have stayed in space.
After his career as an astronaut, Jean-Jacques Favier became involved in research and education. In particular, he contributed to the collaboration between the Clément Ader-Albi Institute and the CNES team in charge of the SpaceShip FR project, whose objective is to develop research means and technologies for the preparation of a future lunar and/or Martian base. He was also an honorary professor at IMT Mines Albi. Jean-Jacques Favier is a Knight of the Legion of Honor.
Published on April 3, 2023
Updated on April 3, 2023
Updated on April 3, 2023
