L’Observatoire de Paris - PSL, partner of the operation "La Guyane vers Jupiter

On April 13, 2023, one of the last Ariane 5s will propel ESA’s highly anticipated JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) mission into space. JUICE will study Jupiter and its icy moons : Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

Astronomy and space professionals from around the world will be in French Guiana to attend the launch. On this occasion, from April 12 to 24, 2023, a vast operation of scientific culture is organized around Kourou-Cayenne and along the Oyapock, for schools, teachers and the general public.

Scientists, engineers and scientific mediators will meet the Guyanese public to offer a multitude of activities in various formats, in the following cities : Kourou, Cacao, Remire Montjoly, Matoury, Macouria, Sinnamary, Saint-Georges, Trois Palétuviers, Ouanary and Camopi.

This event is inspired by previous operations, piloted in particular by the Paris Observatory - PSL, in Guyanese territory :

• In 2018 : "Planet in Guiana", which took place on the occasion of the launch of the BepiColombo Mission ;
• In 2021 : "Guyana to the stars", for the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.

An event in 3 parts

"La Guyane vers Jupiter" is divided into three parts :

• School component : scientists will lead discovery workshops on astronomy and space for 1^st and 2^e degree students. Exchange times will be organized so that students can discuss with scientists about astronomy and related professions. There will also be visits to the classrooms by specialists from the JUICE mission who have come for the launch, wishing to share their passion and their profession with the students.

  

• Teacher section : In close collaboration with the rectorate, researchers will train teachers of all levels in astronomy. The training provided includes general courses, turnkey activities and an introduction to sky observation. There will then be a sponsorship system between researchers in Paris and classes wishing to carry out a project around astronomy as well as a module offered to teachers in the fall, in collaboration with the CESAR educational program of the ESA/ESAC.

  

• General public section : scientists and scientific mediators will take over public squares and high-traffic locations (markets, villages, Guiana Space Center, etc.) in order to offer free astronomy activities to passers-by . Astronomical observations will take place during the day to observe the Sun, as well as in the evening to admire the moon, the planets and the deep sky. Finally, conferences for the general public will also be offered each evening, in a different location.

  

The objectives

The objectives of this event are multiple :

• To make discover astronomy and space to the schoolchildren and to the general public thanks to ludic, interactive animations and accessible to all, the whole animated by professionals of astronomy ;
• To train to the scientific approach and to develop the critical spirit ;
• To testify of the diversity and the international aspect of the space professions ;
• Create vocations and promote the place of women in science to fight against their under-representation in this sector.

The program

Check out the updated program on the La Canopée des sciences website.

The team

The team is composed of 10 people including scientists from various research institutes in Europe, members of the Academy of Guyana and animators of the Canopée des sciences, specialists in astronomy.

• Ines Belgacem is a post-doctoral researcher at the European Space Agency, based at ESAC in Madrid. She studies the icy surfaces of the solar system and has been involved in the ESA JUICE mission for 7 years. She is also very committed to equal opportunities and scientific dissemination. She co-organized the Astro-Jeunes festival for 3 years and is now co-founder of the Sens’Astro association and sponsor of the OSE program at ISAE-SUPAERO. She is co-sponsor of the project "JUICE : from Guyana to Jupiter".
• Raphaël de Assis Peralta is a researcher at CEA Paris-Saclay. After a PhD in stellar physics, he is now in charge of the scientific diffusion of the Astrophysics Department of CEA Paris-Saclay. In parallel, he is the president and founder of the scientific mediation association SpaceBus France, partner of the project "JUICE : from Guyana to Jupiter", of which he is a co-sponsor.
• Alain Doressoundiram is an astronomer at the Observatoire de Paris - PSL. He is a specialist of planetary surfaces and is involved in several missions to explore the Solar System. He is a teacher trainer and has created the class sponsorship program at Paris Observatory. He is co-sponsor of this travelling project.
• Claire Vallat works as an operations scientist for the JUICE mission at the European Space Agency (ESA). She is part of the mission’s scientific ground segment team based near Madrid (Spain). She previously worked on the Rosetta and Cluster missions.
• Claire Baskevitch is a 3rd year PhD student in astrophysics at LATMOS and LESIA. She studies the environments of Europa and Ganymede, two moons of Jupiter. She is also a member of the organizing committee of the Elbereth conference which gathers every year the astrophysics PhD students of Ile-de-France.
• Paolo Haffoud is in his second year of doctoral studies at the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale d’Orsay in the planetology team. He works on the calibration and scientific performances of the MAJIS instrument (the visible and infrared imager of the JUpiter Icy Moons Explorer mission).
• Nicolas Altobelli is based in Madrid (Spain) at the European Space Agency (ESA), and is responsible for the development of the scientific ground segment of the JUICE mission. He has participated in several planetary missions (Mars Express, Cassini-Huygens, Rosetta) for ESA and NASA, as a scientist and in the operations teams.
• Morgan Leteinturier is a scientific mediator at the Canopée des Sciences, treasurer of the Guyane Astronomie association and passionate about science. He leads time with school groups or the general public in Guyana on various themes around astronomy : the solar system, travel in the Milky Way, observation of the sun and the night sky ...
• Thomas Luglia is a regional educational inspector of physics and chemistry for the French Guiana Academy. He accompanies all the teachers of physics chemistry of the department intervening in college and in high school general and technological ways.

Many other scientists who came for the launch will also participate in this event through specific events.

The partners

This event is organized jointly by the Observatoire de Paris-PSL, the CNES, the Canopée des Sciences, the ESA, the rectorat, the associations Guyane Astronomie and SpaceBus France, the Zonta International club of Cayenne and the academic school of continuous education of Guyana.

It has the support of the IAS, the CNRS, the CEA, and the Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane. The company Unistellar is also associated with the project and has graciously offered the loan and transport of equipment.