The French Space Agency’s commitments in French Guiana : review and outlook

Working alongside the local authorities and the French State

The French Space Agency supports the development of regional projects in the fields of education, training, apprenticeships and economic development through agreements concluded:

•    with the State and French Guiana’s Local Authorities, as part of its contribution to various European programmes for French Guiana;
•    with French Guiana’s 22 town councils.

In 2024, the various committees that met under these agreements helped to establish funding and drive projects such as the forthcoming health centre in Sinnamary, the multi-sports facilities in Maïman and Niou Kampoe in the Apatou region, phase 2 of Michel Lohier's Bestiary of Tales and Legends supported by the City of Cayenne, and the purchase of equipment for schools in Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock.

The stakeholder Advisory Board of Europe's Spaceport, set up in 2023, will convene for the second time in 2025. Co-chaired by the Association of Mayors of French Guiana, the Prefecture and the Local Authorities, it brings together representatives of the State, local government, associations and companies from Europe’s Spaceport. This second session will focus on the outlook for the transformation of Europe’s Spaceport by 2030.

Education, inclusion and digital technology

In 2024, the French Space Agency signed or renewed a number of agreements with key players in the fields of education, teaching and scientific outreach:

•    The Centre de Culture Scientifique, Technique et Industrielle [Centre for scientific, technical and industrial culture] (CCSTI) Canopée des Sciences organisation;
•    The Guyane Astronomie organisation;
•    The Centre Scientifique de Guyane [French Guiana Science Centre] to support its work with college and university students, particularly regarding projects in the field of aerospace;
•    The Fédération des Maisons Familiales Rurales de Guyane [Federation of MFR vocational training centres in French Guiana], for their work coordinating all the regional MFR training centres;
•    The Guyane Développement Innovation (GDI) business incubator, for organizing the Act'In Space competition and supporting digital project leaders.

Last year, the French Space Agency's grant scheme celebrated its 40th anniversary. Since 1984, the French Space Agency has awarded 203 excellence grants, plus 89 study grants and 34 apprenticeship grants following the expansion of the scheme in 2018. In 2024, the French Space Agency awarded a total of 25 grants. It is continuing this scheme, which is part of the agreement with the Local Education Authority, with a new feature this year: a number of excellence grants will enable students to continue their studies in French Guiana (where the range of courses on offer has grown) rather than exclusively outside the region. 

Since 2021, French Space Agency employees have been visiting secondary schools and colleges as part of the L'Espace, C'est Classe [Space is Ace] educational operation. In 2024, more than 1,400 pupils from Apatou, Cayenne, Grand-Santi, Kourou, Macouria, Matoury, Régina, Rémire-Montjoly, Saint-Georges and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni learnt about jobs in the space industry through this operation. The 5th operation will take place this year between February and May. More than 60 classes have already signed up.

In 2024, 4,868 pupils, from nurseries to sixth-form colleges, visited Europe’s Spaceport’s facilities. With the opening of Guyaspace Expérience in July 2024, a new educational offer—with themed workshops, operations and projects such as the children's scientific congress, the Martian robot challenge and budding engineer initiatives—was added to the tours. The offer is aimed at teachers and pupils of all levels.

Climate and biodiversity

This year, the French Space Agency organised the very first professional exchanges on “Space and Biodiversity” on 5 and 6 December in Sinnamary, for those involved in protecting the environment. The sessions provided an opportunity to share the knowledge that has been acquired about the biodiversity of Europe’s Spaceport and to explore fresh perspectives on environmental protection. In conjunction with these meetings, on 7 December, the French Space Agency invited the general public to take part in a discovery day about the trails, flora and fauna at Europe’s Spaceport and the protective measures in place.

As part of the Space for Climate Observatory (SCO) initiative, the French Space Agency has committed to supporting project leaders wishing to use space data in order to develop solutions to improve climate resilience. Tools such as Arbocarto, which produces predictive mapping of mosquito-borne diseases, and TropiSCO (deforestation monitoring) were developed as part of this scheme.

The second phase of the Bio plateaux (Bio Basins) project, which involves developing the sharing of data, information and experience on water and biodiversity between French Guiana, Brazil and Suriname, is now under way. The French Space Agency supported the first phase (2019-2022), providing technical support through its expertise in space hydrology, as well as financial support. The French Space Agency is continuing its commitment during the 2nd phase of the project (2021-2027).

A part of the Amazonian Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainable Innovation (AIBSI) project, French Space Agency engineers specializing in Earth observation have delivered courses on remote sensing to students at the Kourou University Institute of Technology (IUT) and trained volunteer teachers in this area.

A further Copernicus Seminar on space applications for French Guiana will be held in the second half of 2025. It will be an opportunity to review the use of satellite data in various fields, including health, access to data and regional planning.
 

Heritage and tourism

In 2024, the French Space Agency reaffirmed its role as a key player in the tourism industry with the opening of Guyaspace Expérience. Inaugurated on 2 October 2024 and open to the general public since July, the former Space Museum has been overhauled to offer residents and visitors historical and technological insights into the space industry in French Guiana. Since its opening, Guyaspace Expérience has welcomed over 13,800 visitors.

A new website was launched in early 2025 to promote Guyaspace Expérience and the other tourist attractions offered by the French Space Agency at Europe’s Spaceport. Visitors can book a slot to attend a launch via the website and they can now also buy tickets online for Guyaspace Expérience. Online bookings for free tours of the facilities and savannahs will be available in 2025.

Working together with the expropriated people's associations, a space at the entrance to the Guyaspace Expérience tour was created that is dedicated to testimonies from this phase in the history of the space industry in French Guiana. This work will continue into 2025, sixty years after the first expropriations, with the creation of a memorial and the continued renovation of the houses in Cité du Stade.

As a financial partner and member of the Board of Directors of the French Guiana Tourism Committee, the French Space Agency will attend the 2025 Tourism Trade show. This will be an opportunity to present the tourism offering of Europe’s Spaceport.

Finally, as the owner of the Salvation Islands, the French Space Agency is continuing its commitment to protect the site and make it safely accessible. Last year, the French Space Agency worked to restore the drinking water supply on Royale Island. It is planning to install a new osmosis system.