One of the duties of Nazareth Cascante Madrigal as Miss Costa Rica 2012 is to be well-versed in everything that our country has to offer to the world. Miss Cascante is our ambassador, and her representation of Costa Rica goes well beyond her beauty and charms.

Miss Cascante recently met with Don Carlos Alvarado Briceno of the Central American Aeronautic and Space Association (ACAE in Spanish) to familiarize herself with our burgeoning aerospace industry. This is part of Miss Costa Rica’s preparation for the 2012 Miss Universe pageant, of which the venue has not yet been announced. Between now and the pageant, Miss Cascante will also participate in a variety of functions and events that will give her an opportunity to talk about Costa Rica’s accomplishments in different industries.

What can Miss Cascante learn about our country’s modest aerospace industry? In the past, The Costa Rica Star has published items of interest regarding this subject. Here are the basics and some updates:

ACAE and the Ad Astra Rocket Company are Costa Rica’s foremost enterprises in the aerospace field. The work of Ad Astra is well-known among Ticos due to the leadership of Dr. Franklin Chang Diaz and the innovative VASIMR engine that one day may power a manned mission to Mars. ACAE operates in a smaller scale compared to Ad Astra -a company that works with NASA- but it is nonetheless active.

In the last two years, ACAE has launched various aeronautical research balloons, and one of the most recent launches took place about a month ago, reaching 35,000 meters in altitude. These balloons are equipped with instruments that can measure vegetation growth, population density, atmospheric changes, solar radiation, and more.

Two members of ACAE are currently expanding their aerospace training abroad: Don Johan Carvajal is at South Korea’s Aerospace Research Institute, while Don Adolfo Chaves will soon travel to Beijing to attend the International Graduate Summer School in Aeronautics and Astronautics.

There’s also the work of Dr. Jorge Andres Diaz of the University of Costa Rica, whose initiative to use drone aircraft to monitor gaseous matter erupted by our active volcanoes has caught the attention of NASA, to the point that Dr. Díaz envisions Tico-made drones flying for NASA in the future.

To some doubting Ticos, the idea of Costa Rica becoming a hub for space exploration projects can sound like pure science fiction. How can a traditionally agricultural nation that is still trying to find her way in the developed world aspire to advance in aerospace?

It is happening thanks to commercial space exploration outfits, such as ACAE, Ad Astra, SpaceX (currently docked with the International Space Station, Stratolaunch, etc. Dr. Frankling Chang Diaz wrote to The Costa Rica Star about this subject at the end of last year:

“All these commercial space initiatives are more than welcome, and they tell us that innovation is still very much alive and strong. There’s no science fiction here.”

There is a lot that Miss Cascante can learn about our aerospace industry, and the more she knows, the better she can represent Costa Rica.