Why Alissé?
Selected from around 190 suggestions, the winning name for Fuglesang’s mission was proposed by Jürgen Modlich from Baierbrunn, Germany. The name refers to the 15th century explorers who used the trade winds to follow Christopher Columbus across the oceans to the New World. One of the most famous trade winds is the alizé (or alize), a steady north-easterly wind that blows across central Africa to the shores of America.
By changing the letters ‘iz’ to ‘iss’, the target of today’s explorers is encompassed in the mission name: Alissé. In our new world, to reach Columbus (ESA’s laboratory on the ISS), we must follow the wind up to the skies and meet people from other continents on the International Space Station.