Voyageur des Sciences: 3 expeditions to learn about global warming
13 February 2006
6 budding explorers are readying themselves for the science adventure of a lifetime in the far north of the Canadian Arctic, where they will learn to live, find their way, fish, build igloos and drive dog sleds with the Inuit people. The Voyageurs des Sciences project (Science Travellers) organized by French explorer Stéphane Lévin will give youngsters real-world insights into climate issues through a scientific approach. CNES is partnering the project.
Preparing youngsters to be future eco-citizens
Crédits : B.Maybon
Melting sea ice, desertification and deforestation are just some of the warning signs alerting us to the threats that weigh on the environment, climate and biodiversity today.
Reports compiled from field data and Earth observation satellites are providing a clear picture of global change.
After his Polar Night mission dedicated to scientific research and human spaceflight, French explorer Stéphane Lévin is now embarking on an educational project focusing on the theme of global warming.
Crédits : Stéphane Lévin
Over the next 2 years, Stéphane Lévin is taking 18 high-school pupils with him on 3 exceptional adventures in environments that are undergoing dramatic shifts:
- Voyageurs des glaces (Ice travellers) in the Arctic in 2006;
- Voyageurs des sables (Sand travellers) in the Sahara in 2007;
- Voyageurs des fleuves (River travellers) in French Guiana in 2008.
Crédits : CNES/S.Lévin
After 5 months of preparation, the 1st expedition will spend from 27 April to 12 May 2006 in Nunavut, in the Arctic far north of Canada.
6 adventurers trained by Stéphane Lévin will share a unique experience living amidst the Inuit people, where they will be able to gauge the utility of space technologies as they perform science protocols and experiments devised by the project partners.
Seeing the benefits of space technologies
9 partners1, including CNES, have joined the project and are devising experiments to be performed during the expeditions.
CNES is providing the explorers with a telemedicine kit, in partnership with the Medes space clinic.
This kit enables medical information to be sent from remote regions for diagnosis by doctors.
CNES is providing the explorers with a telemedicine kit, in partnership with the Medes space clinic.
This kit enables medical information to be sent from remote regions for diagnosis by doctors.
Crédits : CNES/S.Lévin
Voyageurs des Sciences will benefit from the latest advances in space research and its practical applications in the public domain.
And the adventure will be broadcast via latest-generation satellite communication systems to the Cité de l’espace in Toulouse.
And the adventure will be broadcast via latest-generation satellite communication systems to the Cité de l’espace in Toulouse.
1 CNES, EADS Astrium, Hydrosolab laboratory, CLS, Midi-Pyrénées sports medicine society, Cité de l’espace, City of Toulouse, Caisse d’Epargne Midi-Pyrénées, Infoterra.
2 Global Observation for a Better Environment
