2023-09-10 00:00:25
Costa Rica will become the center of the space theme from September 12 to 14. A series of conferences and activities for audiences of all ages in which students from educational institutions at the intermediate level and universities, up to primary and basic education teachers, interested people and professionals will participate.
He I Central American Space Congress, CEC 2023 It will bring together personalities who stand out in the research of this topic and organizers comment that the objective is for this type of activities to be a platform to find opportunities for collaboration between institutions and people in the region and globally.
The appointment is in the Aula Magna of the University of Costa Rica. The topics will range from innovation in space ventures to space biology and medicine, rocketry, development of CubeSats (past, present and future), development of the space ecosystem (public policy), education and dissemination, inclusion (gender and diversity), space technological innovation and entrepreneurship, space robotics, and use of remote sensing data, among other topics.
Additionally, the CEC tries to serve as a meeting point for space start-ups in the region to discuss potential synergies, he says Katherinne Herrera-Jordan, graduate in biochemistry and microbiology, entrepreneur in technology development and president of the Guatemalan Association of Engineering and Space Sciences, AGICE and part of the organizing committee.
The beginning
In an interview with Prensa Libre, Herrera-Jordán explains that the idea of this activity was born in a conversation at the 73rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC), the most important space event in the world on this topic, which took place in Paris, France, in 2022.
On that occasion they participated for Costa Rica, Leonora de Lemosdirector of the UCR Aerospace Engineering Group, Melania GuerraDirector of Scientific Strategy Planety Andres Mora, postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University (ASU); the Spanish Javier Mejuto, Head of the Department of Archaeoastronomy and Cultural Astronomy of the Faculty of Space Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Honduras; as well as the Guatemalan louis zeascientist at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Together they created the bases for this meeting that is becoming a reality and motivate the central region of Latin America to figure more in this type of experiences. Part of the motivation is that more people know more about space culture and that they become more competitive compared to other more developed countries in the space sector.
Herrera-Jordán was also invited to this select group to learn about the dynamics and lead with them the next day that is planned for 2024 in Guatemala.
You might be interested in: They present a book that highlights the space and investigative work at NASA of 23 Guatemalans
“We want to demonstrate that we are capable people and that we are managing to be part of important initiatives,” Katherinne Herrera-Jordan, graduate in biochemistry and microbiology and president of the Guatemalan Association of Engineering and Space Sciences, AGICE
Progress in the region
When talking about Central America, it is relevant to highlight that in space issues the Costa Rican country is one of the most advanced on the subject. It has its first astronaut Franklin Chang-Díaz and they have begun the initiative of a space agency, who will be at this congress.
In El Salvador, Salvadoran cosmonaut Francisco (Frank) Carlos Rubio could become the Latino and American with the longest time in space, while Honduras has advances in archaeoastronomy and other topics.
Read more: 30 heroines of Guatemalan science
Guatemala is also walking in this direction. The first Guatemalan satellite, Quetzal-1, had 70% of its parts made by university students from the country, to give some examples of the outstanding projects in the region, in which Luis Zea is one of its leaders, and also will be among the exhibitors.
Zea has been recognized with an Honorary Doctorate of Science by the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, has received Outstanding Faculty Mentor awards by the University of Colorado Boulder, the Thora Halstead Young Investigator by the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research. He was selected among the 25 most influential people in Central America in 2016 by Forbes Mexico, he was chosen as an Emerging Space Leader in 2015 by the International Astronautical Federation, and in 2014 he was chosen as Innovator of the Year for the Central American Region by MIT Technology.
Exhibitors
Among the panelists will be professionals from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), such as Sandra Cauffman, deputy director of the Astrophysics Division and the scientist from the same institution, Sergio R. Santa María, as well as Professor Mizanul Chowdhury, from the Engineering Systems Laboratory, MIT Department of Aerospace and Astronautics.
In network
For more information about the 1st CEC, visit: www.cec2023.org. The registration fee for students is 80 dollars and for non-students it is 150 dollars. Some students have received scholarships to attend.
#represents #country #Central #American #Space #Congress #CEC