She set sail for a round-the-world scientific survey under the command of lieutenant Duperrey under the name  "La Coquille".

In 1785 the French navigator Lapérouse had been ordered by Louis XVI to go on a voyage of discovery to the Pacific ocean. It was in memory of him that the ship was renamed  Astrolabe  in 1825.

In 1826 captain Dumont d'Urville in command of the Astrolabe sailed on a voyage to find the shipwreck of the Vanikoro.

In September 1837 the Astrolabe sailed to the Tierre del Feugo in the Antarctic ocean.

In 1840 Dumont d'Urville discovered in the Antarctic a land which he named 'Adélie' after his wife.

From 1847 to 1850 the Astrolabe made the first marine maps of the south American coast. 

The Astrolabe was struck from the list of the kings ships in 1851.