GEIPAN

GEIPAN [GEIPAN stands for "Groupe d'Études et d'Informations sur les Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés" (unidentified aerospace phenomenon research and information group)] (sept. 2005-), formerly known as GEPAN [GEPAN stands for "Groupe d'Étude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés" (unidentified aerospace phenomenon research group)] (1977-1988) and SEPRA [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)] (1988-2004), is a unit of the French Space Agency CNES whose brief is to investigate unidentified aerospace phenomena (UAP) [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.] 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 made its archives [http://www.cnes-geipan.fr/geipan/recherche.html available online] to everyone.

keptical critics

French skeptics have criticized the quality of the work of the GEPAN (active from 1977 to 1988).

* Rossoni, D., Maillot, E., & Déguillaume, E. (2007). Les ovnis du CNES – 30 ans d’études officielles. www.book-e-book.com. [http://www.zetetique.fr/page/doc.php?publication=1&ecritId=37 (extracts from the book in French)] . Critical skeptical investigations of GEPAN's work.

External links

* [http://www.cnes-geipan.fr/ GEIPAN official site]
* [http://www.cnes.fr/web/5038-geipan.php Goals and history of GEIPAN] on the CNES website.
* [http://www.ufoevidence.org/newsite/files/GEPANSEPRA.pdf "From GEPAN to SEPRA: Official UFO studies in France"] (International UFO Review, winter 2000-2001), the earlier years of GEIPAN related by Gildas Bourdais.

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