Euro Space Center

The Euro Space Center opened at Transinne in 1991 beside a satellite ground station and works as both a public attraction and a residential training centre, running space camps for school groups and children in which participants spend days on simulated mission tasks. The public exhibition covers the history of spaceflight, rockets, satellites, life on a station and Mars exploration, with full-scale mock-ups, a Soyuz capsule, and simulators including a multi-axis chair, a moon walk rig that takes a sixth of your weight, and a rotating gyroscope. It was rebuilt and reopened in 2021 with a new exhibition and building. It is aimed squarely at children and families and is one of the few wet-weather options in this part of the Ardennes.

What you actually see

• The moon walk rig - a harness taking five-sixths of your weight.
• Multi-axis and gyroscope simulators - the training rigs open to visitors.
• Full-scale spacecraft mock-ups - capsules and station modules.
• The 2021 exhibition - the rebuilt display on spaceflight and Mars.

When to go

Year round; it is indoors. Half a day. Belgian and Dutch school holidays are busiest and simulators queue. Some simulators have height and weight limits, which catch families out.

Honest expectations

It is aimed at children and adults alone will find it thin. Simulators have queues and restrictions, and not all are included in the basic ticket. Ticket prices are high. Interpretation is in French and Dutch with some English.

Nearby

Redu book village is a short drive; Saint-Hubert lies east.