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Did you know that there is a Costa Rican engineer who is deputy director of NASA’s Astrophysics Division; that a 25-year-old microbiologist is the creator of the first startup space of Guatemala, focused on providing low-cost technologies for space research, or that an astronaut of Salvadoran origin is about to break the record as the person who has spent the most time in outer space? In a region where it seems that only hopeless news originates, an aerospace meeting aims to demonstrate this week that, beyond poverty, outbreaks of violence, authoritarianism and corruption, Central America also has the talent to launch small space satellites and engineers and scientists already involved in the design, manufacture and support of space missions.
He first Central American Space Congress (CEC2023), which is held in San José (Costa Rica) from September 12 to 14, this week aims to inventory parts and warm up engines for the development of Central America. Without avoiding the limitations that the region has, the event is designed as an intervention of hope based on facts and evidence, with Latin American names and surnames. To break down the almost cultural disbelief that a space race cannot be carried out from our towns, among the lecturers, panelists and exhibitors of abstracts (scientific summaries) highlight Central Americans who are already part of space agencies, key academies and private initiatives.
Among the Central Americans, Costa Rican engineer Sandra Cauffman stands out, deputy director of NASA’s Astrophysics Division, where the US agency decides which missions are, such as the James Webb telescope, which explores, for example, how the Universe works, how it began or if there are planets similar to ours.
From the private sphere, the Costa Rican astronaut and today businessman Franklin Chang-Díaz stands out, who created a plasma engine for propulsion of space vehicles that seeks to become a cheap and effective alternative as a source of propulsion energy for spacecraft. Biochemist Katherine Herrera, who runs the company Verne Technologies, the first startup space company of Guatemala, and he will talk with other owners of Central American space companies about innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition, the American of Salvadoran origin Elías Solórzano will explain his knowledge of geointelligence and satellite systems. He works at MDA, a Canadian company that is a partner of the space station.
The Costa Rican Andrés Mora, manager of the idea that gave rise to this space congress, will talk about collaborative robotics and his participation in supporting the assistant robots of the Space Station called Astrobee, as well as the Biosentinel mission, whose goal is to measure the effects of radiation in the DNA of microorganisms to better understand the risks astronauts face during long-duration missions in space.
When Mora was studying in Costa Rica, Costa Rican astronaut Franklin Chang-Díaz and his family reached out to him. He gave him access to his laboratory and NASA and recommended him to continue his graduate studies. There is no need to explain what this meant for his career and his life. Convinced of the need to replicate the experience of connecting people with opportunities, Mora found in his own colleagues and friends such as Leonora de Lemos—a professor and the first woman certified as a rocket scientist in Costa Rica—the necessary complicity to carry out this Central American Space Congress.
Can you imagine what it is like to be a schoolboy with space dreams and be able to sit down and talk face to face with figures like the engineer of Mexican origin Carlos Fontanot, who is in charge of the acquisition, processing, archiving, classification and distribution of video and still images What does the space agency NASA take from the International Space Station? How much hope can it spark in a low-income Central American woman when one of the highest-ranking Hispanic women at NASA reminds her that “the conditions in which we are born do not determine where or how we end up”? In her childhood, Sandra Cauffman remembers “bathing” in the bathroom of an office lent to her family by “a good Samaritan” before leaving for school on an empty stomach.
The three-day program, of course, also includes interventions by non-Central Americans who will address topics such as the life cycle of the so-called CubeSats (small and cheap satellites), virtual learning programs on the Space Station, initiatives to promote female participation in science and engineering, as well as the work of companies like Leolabs, which uses a network of next-generation tracking radars to track satellites, rocket fragments and other objects in orbit.
The space race is a mine of opportunities. In 2023 alone, private investment exceeds $400 billion, about 20% more than previous years. As an associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, Guatemalan Luis Zea, says: “The region has not been a leader in previous industrial revolutions, but that does not mean it should be that way forever. “New commercial platforms in space will allow companies from around the world to be key participants in this new industrial revolution.”
Space exploration offers unique opportunities to governments. Joining international cooperation programs can provide them with access to advanced technology and additional resources to boost research and development in areas such as telemedicine, precision agriculture, connectivity, food security and, of course, the mitigation of natural disasters.
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