384 000 km
from Earth
129.78°E
-89.67°S
DDM VALENTINE CHAPUIS / L INGENIEUR FRANCAIS ET SPATIONAUTE JEAN FRANCOIS CLERVOY ETAIT A LA CITE DE L ESPACE A TOULOUSE DANS LE CADRE DE LA PRESENTATION DU NOUVEAU FILM DE ALICE WINOCOUR QUI RELATE L HISTOIRE D UNE FEMME SPATIONAUTE / CINEMA PORTRAIT
Monaco, 10 February 2025 – As part of the development of Venturi Space, now also established in France, the President of the Group, Gildo Pastor, has appointed the French astronaut Jean-François Clervoy as its ambassador.
Before becoming a renowned speaker and a staunch advocate of space exploration, Jean-François Clervoy dedicated 33 years to his career as an astronaut, accumulating 675 hours in orbit. Originally from Lorraine but now an adopted Toulousain, he is now bringing his expertise to Venturi Space.
The Group, present in Monaco, Switzerland, USA (Columbus, Ohio), and France (Toulouse), is undergoing expansion. Among its innovations, two will soon be deployed on the Moon: high-performance batteries and hyper-deformable wheels.
These critical technologies will equip the rovers of the North American company Venturi Astrolab:
FLIP, expected to be operational by the end of the year;
FLEX, with private missions anticipated from 2027 and currently pre-selected by NASA with a view to deployment around 2030.
Gildo Pastor’s teams are proud and delighted to welcome Jean-François Clervoy, who has completed three space missions.
1994 | STS-66 Mission: Aboard the Atlantis shuttle, he contributed to the study of the Earth’s atmosphere with the ATLAS-3 laboratory and deployed the CRISTA-SPAS satellite using the robotic arm. He spent 262 hours in flight and completed 175 Earth orbits.
1997 | STS-84 Mission: During the resupply mission to the Russian Mir station, also aboard Atlantis, he served as payload commander. He spent 222 hours in flight and completed 144 Earth orbits.
1999 | STS-103 Mission: As flight engineer and robotic arm operator on the Discovery shuttle, he played a key role in the rescue of the Hubble Space Telescope. He spent 191 hours in flight and completed 120 Earth orbits.
From 2006 to 2019, Jean-François Clervoy served as Chairman of Novespace,
a CNES subsidiary specialising in parabolic flights with the Airbus ZERO-G, before becoming its Honorary Chairman. In parallel, he supported ESA’s human spaceflight programmes, notably by selecting and mentoring the new cohort of astronauts.
“Venturi has been close to my heart for 25 years, so the choice of ambassador for Venturi Space was a crucial decision. With Jean-François Clervoy, I am convinced that our technologies, expertise, and industry know-how will be perfectly showcased, while faithfully reflecting our values, vision, and philosophy.” – Gildo Pastor, President of Venturi and Venturi Space
“My first meeting with Gildo Pastor in lunar gravity aboard the ZeroG aircraft was a sign. For a long time, Gildo Pastor has demonstrated the essential qualities for the success of any space exploration project: passion, audacity, commitment, innovation, and leadership, all leading to a vision that inspires people to join his adventures. I am delighted to become an ambassador for the international Venturi Space team, whose excellence ensures the imminent transformation of dreams into reality.” – Jean-François Clervoy, astronaut and ambassador of Venturi Space
Gildo Pastor, President of the Monegasque company Venturi Space, welcomed HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, the first person to have driven a rover on the Moon and Commander of the Apollo 15 mission General David Scott, and astronaut Jean-François Clervoy.
Venturi Space, and Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) announced their collaboration to produce a lunar rover, designed to respond to the growing number of institutional, businesses and scientific organizations in the U.S. and European markets, that are seeking access to the Moon for smaller payloads.
Venturi Group presented its latest invention at the international Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, France: a hyper-deformable Lunar wheel. Venturi Lab designed and manufactured the wheel using materials it created. The Venturi wheel is a world first.
The American company SpaceX will be responsible for transporting the rover, which will be the largest and most capable in the history of lunar vehicles. SpaceX will use its Starship launch and landing system to transport the astromobile to the lunar surface.