Un voyage autour de la Terre - Portrait de Jean-Pierre Haigneré, cosmonaute

The adventure conducted by Jean-Pierre Haigneré aboard the Mir station, during the Perseus expedition of 1999, marks an important stage in a new awareness of Earth. These six months in space were the opportunity for him to fulfil a dream; they represent a mental and contemplative experience. His face pressed to the window of Mir, which rotates around Earth at a speed of 8 km per second (28,800 km/h), the fascinated cosmonaut records 27 hours of rushes. They form a whole cinematographic atlas, from Tibet to Sinai, from Amazonia to the Mediterranean, from Africa to the poles. Little by little,Jean-Pierre Haigneré goes beyond the pure scientific observation to reveal in voice off the personal thoughts that come to his mind as he admires the geological phenomena of the planet. He also shows us how his body adapts and frees itself of all the constraint due to gravity, and how his visual and sound perception undergoes major change.