Geipan

GEIPAN^[1] (sept. 2005-), formerly known as GEPAN^[2] (1977-1988) and SEPRA^[3] (1988-2004), is a unit of the French Space Agency CNES whose brief is to investigate unidentified aerospace phenomena (UAP)^[4] and make its findings available to the public.

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 everyone.

French skeptics have criticized the quality of the work of the GEPAN.^[5]

External links

• (French) 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

1. ^ GEIPAN stands for Groupe d'Études et d'Informations sur les Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés (unidentified aerospace phenomenon research and information group)
2. ^ GEPAN stands for Groupe d'Étude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés (unidentified aerospace phenomenon research group)
3. ^ SEPRA formerly stood for Service d'Expertise des Phénomènes de Rentrée Atmosphérique (atmospheric re-entry phenomena expertise department) and, since 2000, stands for Service d'Expertise des Phénomènes Rares Aérospatiaux (rare aerospace phenomena expertise department)
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ 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.