It may be out of the center, but with Toulouse being the center of European space exploration, this high-tech attraction is very popular. Offering hands-on experiences, you learn how to program a satellite launch, what life is like on board the Soyuz spacecraft, and look at earth from space with views taken from the weather satellites that update every 3 hr. The IMAX cinema and Planetarium take you into space on spectacular journeys while the Gyro-extreme shows you what it’s like to be a real astronaut navigating while your sense of direction is disturbed. It’s a great place for children with special play areas and their own planetarium, the Stellarium. In summer on Thursday evenings, the museum stays open late to let you see the stars through massive telescopes before watching fireworks arch into the sky next to the Ariane 5 rocket.