The PERSEUS project is a unique initiative that aims at federating networks of universities, laboratories and enterprises in the context of a launcher development. PERSEUS, led by the CNES (French space Agency), has three key objectives: - To foster innovation in launch vehicle developments to stimulate innovation and advance technologies applicable to launch systems with a large participation of students, professors, and small companies - To serve an educational initiative for students and to motivate the future generations to take up careers in the space sector - To realize the design project (phase 0/A) for a nano satellite launch system and to develop a set of demonstrators to validate new technologies. Targeted payloads are nano satellites, a class of satellites that has flourished thanks to several university efforts. PERSEUS also strives to serve as an educational platform, promoting space and science and attempting to involve students in all aspects of the project: from project management to "hands-on" developments. PERSEUS is organized in macro-projects. A macro-project is a set of projects within the same topic. In this paper, a special focus is given to the MEDUSA macro-project, dedicated to nano satellites studies