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3. The Atelier des Lumières Lands on the Moon: An Immersive Odyssey by Tom Hanks

In the heart of Paris, art and science merge in a dazzling cosmic journey. Tom Hanks takes audiences beyond Earth, retracing humanity’s greatest leap — from Apollo to Artemis — in a breathtaking, full-scale experience.

In the heart of Paris, the Atelier des Lumières once again welcomes visitors in search of an extraordinary immersive art experience. This time, it’s not a single artist or a specific work on display — it’s a voyage into the cosmos: Destination Moon.

At the Atelier des Lumières, an exploration of lunar conquest co-written by Tom Hanks awaits an audience eager for both documentary depth and artistic wonder.

A lifelong space enthusiast, Tom Hanks invites viewers to relive the infinite adventure of the Apollo missions. Together with the astronauts of Artemis, spectators embark on a journey crowned with success — Destination Moon. The immersion is powered by restored NASA footage and photographs drawn from the original Apollo program films. Thousands of lunar images, meticulously restored by expert Andy Saunders, are projected on a massive scale, turning the invisible into the visible, accompanied by the narration of Jean-Philippe Puymartin, the French voice of Tom Hanks. The result is a masterful blend of history, science, and humanity reaching toward the infinite.

What makes this exhibition so moving is the delicate smallness of humankind — paradoxically revealed through an artistic and immersive format rich with technology and multimedia. It’s a poetic proof that scientific progress can elevate art. Watching rockets launch across walls, astronauts’ faces float on ceilings, and the Earth gleam like a fragile marble underfoot, visitors are reminded of both the grandeur of the universe and the fleeting nature of human existence.

One lingering image shows a lunar rock displaced by ancient forces — perhaps a volcano or a seismic tremor — untouched for centuries. It’s said that even the surrounding dust has never lifted.

This exhibition coincides with the release of Éloge du dépassement by Thomas Pesquet and Étienne Klein (Flammarion), in which they advocate for a reasoned optimism. “Go to the Moon, yes,” attests Thomas Pesquet, “but Mars?” He admits he’d think twice before setting off toward the Red Planet — a journey of pure technical prowess, perhaps, but one without true purpose for now.

As visitors leave the Atelier des Lumières, they emerge from this scientific dreamscape confronted by deeply human questions — about the ephemeral nature of life and the vast silence of the cosmos.

The exhibition runs until December 4, 2025.