Abstract
In the 17thcentury , Galileo imagined an experiment in which two objects of different natures fell at the same time. Based on the fact that both bodies hit the ground at the same time, Galileo deduced that, in a vacuum, all bodies fall with the same speed, regardless of their mass or composition. This universality of free fall, or the equivalence between heavy and inert mass, was later established as a principle, known as the equivalence principle, by Albert Einstein, who used it as the basis for general relativity. The purpose of the Microscope satellite is to test this principle with a precision a hundred times better than in a terrestrial experiment. In space, it is possible to study the relative motion of two bodies in free fall, sheltered from seismic disturbances, and with measurements spread over several months in a row. The seminar was devoted to presenting the initial results of this mission and describing the methodology used.
