This is the first 1:10 scale miniature of the Explorer, Scientist, Physicist and Astronaut Auguste Piccard (Basel, January 28, 1884 - Lausanne, March 24, 1962)
 Auguste Piccard is recognized by NASA as the first astronaut to have crossed the Stratosphere aboard a pressurized capsule. He invented this first gondola to study ionized states, cosmic rays and radioactivity in the atmosphere. It was designed in 1925. Piccard made his first inaugural flight with his aide Paul Kipfer. With a second gondola, better designed, Auguste made several ascents with his brother Jean. In 1932 Auguste Piccard climbed to over 16,000m, Jean, a naturalized American, overcame it two years later by ballooning to 17,500m. Auguste is also famous for having built the first Battiscafo nicknamed Trieste together with his son. For this purpose he conceived the bathyscaphe, conceived as a submarine balloon: an elongated float, filled with liquid lighter than water (petrol), equipped with ballast (iron grains) and a circular cabin room.
 
 The model is in 12 pieces in unpainted resin
 
 Published in Soldatini magazine January 2020