Planètes en Guyane
The launch of the BepiColombo Space Mission took place in Kourou, french Guiana, on October 19, 2018 at 22:45 (Kourou time). Proposed by Paris Observatory (PSL University), "Planètes en Guyane" is a project to share the scientific culture in Guiana taking the opportunity of the launch of the BepiColombo probe. From October 15 to 25, 2018, the scientists of the mission met young people in schools, and gave lectures and fun activities to the public of Guiana.
Our goals ?
Share scientific and space culture
Make discover the space carrers
Show the cultural richness of our work
Promote scientific careers for girls to fight the under-representation of women in this sector
Make discover the space carrers
Show the cultural richness of our work
Promote scientific careers for girls to fight the under-representation of women in this sector
The project of sharing the scientific culture is two-folds:
1) From October 15th to 19th, around 50 scientists from the BepiColombo mission (https://www.planete-mercure.fr/bepicolombo), coming for the pre-launch meeting, participated in this program by visiting schools all over the region (nearly a hundred classrooms, from primary to high school). Visits to classrooms are organized in pairs, with at least one person speaking French (and ideally a couple man / woman, or scientist / engineer or French / non-French) to discuss with young people about BepiColombo and Mercury science. The objective was to share the scientific and space culture, to show the cultural richness of our work, to make discover the space careers, and to promote the scientific careers with the girls.
We also intervened at the University of Guyana and IUT Kourou, in the form of conferences and exchanges with students, especially on the subject of women in science, but also to talk about careers involved in the space mission BepiColombo: engineer, researcher, technician... We also organized a training session with teachers at Saint Laurent du Maroni. This first component of the project was done in close collaboration with the academy of Guiana.
2) The second component, prepared with the CNRS, CNES, the Canopée des Sciences and the SpaceBus France association, consisted of organizing from October 15 to 25 entertaining activities and conferences for the public. We met the public in Guiana, at the Cayenne market, gave lectures in Cayenne, Kourou and Saint Laurent du Maroni. We also led fun activities on the theme of space and science, especially around the BepiColombo Game.
The detailed program is here (in french).
1) From October 15th to 19th, around 50 scientists from the BepiColombo mission (https://www.planete-mercure.fr/bepicolombo), coming for the pre-launch meeting, participated in this program by visiting schools all over the region (nearly a hundred classrooms, from primary to high school). Visits to classrooms are organized in pairs, with at least one person speaking French (and ideally a couple man / woman, or scientist / engineer or French / non-French) to discuss with young people about BepiColombo and Mercury science. The objective was to share the scientific and space culture, to show the cultural richness of our work, to make discover the space careers, and to promote the scientific careers with the girls.
We also intervened at the University of Guyana and IUT Kourou, in the form of conferences and exchanges with students, especially on the subject of women in science, but also to talk about careers involved in the space mission BepiColombo: engineer, researcher, technician... We also organized a training session with teachers at Saint Laurent du Maroni. This first component of the project was done in close collaboration with the academy of Guiana.
2) The second component, prepared with the CNRS, CNES, the Canopée des Sciences and the SpaceBus France association, consisted of organizing from October 15 to 25 entertaining activities and conferences for the public. We met the public in Guiana, at the Cayenne market, gave lectures in Cayenne, Kourou and Saint Laurent du Maroni. We also led fun activities on the theme of space and science, especially around the BepiColombo Game.
The detailed program is here (in french).
Le jeu BepiColombo
Conçu pour promouvoir la mission BepiColombo auprès du grand public, ce jeu va vous faire découvrir les grands enjeux scientifiques et technologiques de cette mission spatiale extraordinaire
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Les posters et fiches pédagogiques
Le service édition de l'IMCCE a conçu des posters et des fiches pour mieux connaitre Mercure et la mission spatiale BepiColombo
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Planètes en Guyane's team
Alain Doressoundiram
Astronome à l'Observatoire de Paris, co-PI d'un instrument de BepiColombo, spécialiste des surfaces planétaires et des petits corps du Système solaire. Porteur du projet, il fait le lien entre les différents partenaires. Il donnera des conférences sur la mission spatiale et visitera les classes.
Léa Griton
Docteure en Astrophysique à l'Observatoire de Paris, spécialiste des magnétosphère planétaires. Porteuse du projet, elle s'assure de la mise en place et de l'organisation. Elle donnera des conférences et assurera l'organisation des stands « Le jeu BepiColombo ».
Charlotte Gehan
Docteure en Astrophysique à l'Observatoire de Paris, spécialiste en physique stellaire. Elle participera aux animations sur place.
Lester David
Ingénieur en instrumentation spatiale à l'Observatoire de Paris. Il a travaillé sur le nanosatellite PicSat. Il participera aux animations sur place.
Le blog de Planètes en Guyane

La semaine dernière a été riche en actions et en émotions puisque, pendant que la moitié de l'équipe restait dans la région de Cayenne, l'autre moitié de l'équipe visitait des classes dans les villes de St-Laurent-du-Maroni et Iracoubo. De plus, l'événement phare de cette édition de Planètes en Guyane a eu lieu avec le lancement de la mission spatiale BepiColombo ce vendredi 19 octobre !