GEIPAN explained

GEIPAN (an acronym in French for Groupe d'Études et d'Informations sur les Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés or Unidentified Aerospace Phenomenon Research and Information Group), is a unit of the French Space Agency CNES based in Toulouse whose brief is to investigate unidentified aerospace phenomena (UAP),^[1] and make its findings available to the public.

History and developments

GEIPAN was initially named GEPAN (French: Groupe d'Étude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés, or unidentified aerospace phenomenon research group) when it was founded with Claude Poher as the inaugural director under the permission of then director general of CNES Yves Sillard. The use of the name GEPAN lasted from 1977 to 1988. Its name changed again into SEPRA (French: Service d'Expertise des Phénomènes de Rentrée Atmosphérique, or atmospheric re-entry phenomena expertise department and since 2000 stands for Service d'Expertise des Phénomènes Rares Aérospatiaux, or rare aerospace phenomena expertise department) from 1988 to 2004, when Jean-Jacques Velasco was the director. Since September 2005, the research unit has been 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 in the Trans-en-Provence Case.

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

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

Directors

GEPAN period

• 1977 - 1978 Claude Poher
• 1979 - 1983 Alain Esterle
• 1984 - 1988 Jean-Jacques Velasco^[7]
• 2016 - 2019 Jean-Paul Aguttes^[10]
• 2019 - 2020 Roger Baldacchino^[11]
• 2021 - 2023 Vincent Costes
• 2024 - now Frederic Courtade^[12]

See also

• List of UFO organizations

External links

• GEIPAN official site
• Goals and history of GEIPAN on the CNES website.
• From GEPAN to SEPRA: Official UFO studies in France (International UFO Review, winter 2000–2001), the earlier years of GEIPAN related by Gildas Bourdais.

Notes and References

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. Web site: Kreidler . Marc . UFOs: an Assessment of Thirty Years of Official Studies in France . Skeptical Inquirer . 2009 . en-US.
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) . Critical skeptical investigations of GEPAN's work.
4. https://cnes.fr/en/web/CNES-en/5866-geipan-uap-investigation-unit-opens-its-files.php CNES report, March 26, 2007
5. Web site: Costes . Vincent . 2022-11-03 . Ovnis : comment travaillent les scientifiques pour étudier les phénomènes aérospatiaux non identifiés . 2023-12-14 . The Conversation . en-US.
6. Web site: Geipan GEIPAN . 2023-12-14 . www.cnes-geipan.fr.
7. Web site: Nomination au GEIPAN: Xavier PASSOT GEIPAN . www.cnes-geipan.fr.

8. GEIPAN period

   • 2005 - 2009 Jacques Patenet
   • 2009 - 2011 Yves Blanc
   • 2011 - 2015 Xavier Passot^[7]

9. SEPRA period

   • 1988 - 2004 Jean-Jacques Velasco^[7]
10. Web site: Interview de Jean-Paul Aguttes, du Geipan : « L’extraterrestre fait partie du job » . Ciel & Espace . fr.
11. Web site: @NatGeoFrance . 2021-09-22 . Qui se cache derrière le GEIPAN, le « bureau des ovnis » en France ? . National Geographic . fr.
12. Web site: 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 . en-US.