“BINGO: Esperança no Espaço” is an initiative supported by the Governo do Estado da Paraíba that promotes the popularization of science through astronomy and the resocialization of inmates. The project, which is the result of a Protocol Agreement formalized between the Secretaria de Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação e Ensino Superior do Estado da Paraíba (Secties) and the  Secretaria de Estado da Administração Penitenciária da Paraíba (Seap), combines two major astronomical initiatives developed in the Paraíba territory. The BINGO Telescope, the largest in Latin America, which combines education, research, and actions for society, and Esperançca no Espaço (Hope in Space) which enables inmates at the Esperança Public Jail to produce their own telescopes and reduce their sentences.

The BINGO Telescope, with the completion of construction and the start of operations expected in mid-year, will be installed in the municipality of Aguiar, in the Paraíba hinterland. The multinational initiative is led by Brazil and has national and international investments, currently being one of the main scientific projects of the Brazil-China strategic partnership. A diamond of Brazilian science that is the size of Maracanã. The BINGO Telescope will allow researchers to measure the expansion of the universe and discover more about dark matter by analyzing a signal coming from space, a type of electromagnetic radiation: baryon acoustic oscillations. In addition to the Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa da Paraíba (Fapesq), the BINGO Telescope has funding from other bodies, such as the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), the São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp), and the Financing Agency for Innovation and Research (Finep).

Esperança no Espaço emerged in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the aim of enabling inmates at the Esperança Public Jail – Paraíba Agreste – to produce telescopes using reused materials. Broomsticks, PVC pipes, and other materials are transformed into telescopes that connect the prison population to the sky. In addition, all production is donated to public schools and used in observations in spaces of collectivity. In exchange, inmates reduce their sentence time and receive astronomy classes.

The Governo do Estado da Paraíba invested, during the first research cycle of the “BINGO: Esperança no Espaço” project, approximately R$ 1.2 million (one million and two hundred thousand reais), aimed at purchasing materials for telescope production and funding research, thus boosting the popularization of science in the state.