GEIPAN

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GEIPAN
Study and Information Group on Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena
Groupe d'Études et d'Informations sur les Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés
AbbreviationGEIPAN
Formation1977; 49 years ago (1977)
FounderClaude Poher
TypeNonprofit
LocationTemplate:Pluralize from textPage Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
LeaderFrederic Courtade
Key people
Yves Sillard
Parent organization
French Space Agency
Websitegeipan.fr
Formerly called
GEPAN, SEPRA

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GEIPAN (an acronym in French for Script error: No such module "Lang"., or Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena Research and Information Group) (/ɡˈpɑːn/) is a unit of the French space agency CNES based in Toulouse, whose mission is to investigate unidentified aerospace phenomena (UAP)[1] and make its findings available to the public.

History and developments

GEIPAN was founded in 1977 as GEPAN (Script error: No such module "Lang"., Study Group for Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena). Claude Poher was the inaugural director, under the permission[<span title="Script error: No such module "decodeEncode".">clarification needed] of then director general of CNES Yves Sillard.

GEPAN was renamed to SEPRA (Script error: No such module "Lang"., Atmospheric Re-entry Phenomena Expertise Department) in 1988,[2] and then to Script error: No such module "Lang". ("rare aerospace phenomena expertise department") in 2000.[citation needed] In 2005, the research unit was renamed to GEIPAN.[2]

The French Gendarmerie was instructed to channel data from reports of UFO sightings to SEPRA, which therefore was in a position to draw on a large database of such events. In cases where physical traces appeared to be present, SEPRA could call on the technical resources of CNES to perform a thorough scientific investigation. A famous example of such an investigation was the Trans-en-Provence Case.

File:Ufo reports in france by year according of GEIPAN archives 1.png
Sightings numbers per year

In March 2007, GEIPAN started to make its archives available online to the public. The same year, French skeptics criticized the quality of their investigative work, arguing the sightings were too quickly filed as unidentified.[3] On March 26, 2007, the CNES' own report said that 28% of sightings remain unidentified.[4]

More recent reports of GEIPAN estimate the unidentified sightings at around 3%.[5][6]

Directors

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GEPAN period

  • 1977–1978 Claude Poher
  • 1979–1983 Alain Esterle
  • 1984–1988 Jean-Jacques Velasco[2]

SEPRA period

  • 1988–2004 Jean-Jacques Velasco[2]

GEIPAN period

  • 2005–2009 Jacques Patenet
  • 2009–2011 Yves Blanc
  • 2011–2015 Xavier Passot[7]
  • 2016–2019 Jean-Paul Aguttes[8]
  • 2019–2020 Roger Baldacchino[9]
  • 2021–2023 Vincent Costes
  • 2024–present Frederic Courtade[10]

See also

References

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  1. ^ GEIPAN is clearly focused on UFO study, but UAP (PAN in French) is meant to cover a much broader area than UFO (OVNI in French), as "UFO" may imply the presence of a physical object despite any actual evidence of it.
  2. ^ a b c d Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kreidler, Marc (2009). "UFOs: an Assessment of Thirty Years of Official Studies in France" (PDF). Skeptical Inquirer.
  3. ^ Rossoni, D., Maillot, E., & Déguillaume, E. (2007). Les ovnis du CNES – 30 ans d’études officielles. www.book-e-book.com. (extracts from the book in French) Script error: No such module "webarchive".. Critical skeptical investigations of GEPAN's work.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."CNES report, March 26, 2007". Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Costes, Vincent (2022-11-03). "Ovnis : comment travaillent les scientifiques pour étudier les phénomènes aérospatiaux non identifiés". The Conversation. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Geipan | GEIPAN". www.cnes-geipan.fr. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Nomination au GEIPAN: Xavier PASSOT | GEIPAN". www.cnes-geipan.fr.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Interview de Jean-Paul Aguttes, du Geipan : « L'extraterrestre fait partie du job »". Ciel & Espace (in français).
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.@NatGeoFrance (2021-09-22). "Qui se cache derrière le GEIPAN, le « bureau des ovnis » en France ?". National Geographic (in français).
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Friscourt, Baptiste (2024-04-24). "The New Director of GEIPAN, France's Official UAP Investigative Office, Discusses Science and the Study of Aerial Mysteries". The Debrief.

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