The team

How it works

Where the decisions come from

Before the people, the framework. This diagram says who elects whom, who decides what, and who the work is entrusted to. The roles below change hands every year; the path does not.

The sovereign body

General meeting

Every member of the association, more than sixty of them. It votes the direction and elects the board.

elects each year

The body that decides

Board

Seven elected people. It takes the important decisions, approves commitments and sees to the good running of the association.

The officers are chosen from among them: chair, vice-chair, treasurer and secretary.

delegates day-to-day running to three teams

Observatory team

Builds and runs the Jocelyn Bell Observatory in Toulouse. It is divided into three groups: management, technical and science.

The running of the observatory is supported by a scientific committee and a supervisory committee, independent of the board. Their role and the call for projects are set out on the observatory’s site.

Communications team

Speaks for the association and makes what is seen: the site, social media, press relations, the visual identity, and the artwork for outreach, exhibitions and public events.

Events team

Organises what brings people together. Internally : the Tuesday sharing evenings, the equipment training and members’ outings, from the pic du Midi to CNES. For the public : talks, observing sessions, school outreach and the teaching resources that go with it, and the big national events, Nuit des Étoiles and Jour de la Nuit.

Join a team

Governance

The people who keep the association alive

The board of UPS in Space steers the association. It is the body that takes the important decisions and makes sure UPS in Space runs properly across everything it carries. The teams carry the day-to-day work.

The observatory division

The division that builds and runs the Jocelyn Bell Observatory in Toulouse is split into three teams. Communications, finance and events are carried by the association’s other divisions.

Management

It sets the course, arbitrates priorities and represents the observatory to the university and the partners.

It has no members of its own: it brings together the head of division and the team leads.

Deputy director: position open. See the role

Engineering

It assembles, tunes and maintains the instruments, the dome and everything that drives them. It is what makes an observing night possible.

Team lead: position open. See the role

The team welcomes active members, with no prerequisite.

Science

It prepares and runs the observing programmes, and supports the projects selected by the scientific committee.

Emeline Beffara · Head of the science team

Her presentation and portrait will be added shortly.

The team welcomes active members, with no prerequisite.

The board

Jean Kellens · Chair

A philosophy graduate and an amateur astrophotographer, he has begun a master’s in the ethics of care and research at Université Jean Jaurès.

Joined in 2022, treasurer from 2022 to 2024, chair since September 2024.

Jean Kellens, président de l’association

Nahia Guerriero--Mareigner · Vice-chair

She is in the third year of a life sciences degree, cell biology and physiology.

Joined in 2024, vice-chair since 2025.

Nahia Guerriero--Mareigner, vice-présidente de l’association

Maëva Boy · Treasurer

Interested in astronomy since childhood, she is studying for a joint mathematics and computer science degree at the University of Toulouse.

Joined in 2024, treasurer since 2026.

Agnès Viel · Secretary

A graduate of the process engineering master’s, she has begun a doctorate with LGC and CNES on producing oxygen and metals at the same time by electrolysis of lunar regolith.

Joined in 2022, head of the communications team in 2023-2024, active member in 2024-2025.

Charlie Cathala · Head of the communications team

A graduate of a two-year technical degree in information and communication, they are currently in their first year of art history. Astronomy came their way by chance, and passion is what keeps them here.

Joined in 2025, head of the communications team.

Nathan Graglia · Head of the events team

A deeply involved member before he was even of age, he is studying for a computer science degree at the University of Toulouse.

Joined in 2023, active member and part of the observatory’s technical group since 2023.

Nathan Graglia, responsable du pôle Événementiel

Hadrien Dupuis · Head of the Jocelyn Bell Observatory team

Passionate about astronomy since he was small, after studying physics he worked as a large-telescope operator at the Haute-Provence Observatory. He is now a science and culture guide at the pic du Midi.

Joined in 2017, vice-chair from 2017 to 2018, chair from 2018 to 2021, head of the observatory team from 2021 to 2022, part of the observatory’s management since 2022 and head of the technical group from 2022 to 2026, head of the observatory team for 2026-2027.

Hadrien Dupuis, responsable du pôle Observatoire Jocelyn Bell de Toulouse

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