FERNANDO CALDEIRO FUE The first Argentine astronaut. He was born in Ituzaingó in 1958, where he attended primary school at School No. 12 Paul Groussac, and lived in Villa las Naciones until 1974, when he moved with his family to the United States.
He received from mechanical engineer and in 1996 He was selected as NASA astronaut. Although he participated in several releases, he never fly to space and died early, at 51.
Caldeiro is the emblem of hundreds of Argentines and Argentines passionate about space exploration. In disciplines as diverse as chemistry, geology and physics, several of them stand out. They are passionate that They study the universe from the south of the continent.
Radio by the universe
Juliana “Jota” saponara has a warm look but always seems to be Looking beyond. Or listening. He works at the Argentine Institute of Radioastronomy (IAR) under the National University of La Plata, located in Pereyra Iraola Park.
She could be The muse that inspired Dr. Ellie Arroway’s characterprotagonist of Carl Sagan’s novel Contact and that Jodie Foster immortalized in the cinematographic version, since both are dedicated to radioastronomy.
But Jota was born in La Plata and was received at the University of that city several years after the book. Both, the fictitious Dr. Arroway and the Royal Dr. Saponara, listen to the universe.
“The galaxies evolve depending on the environment in which they are,” says Saponara. I I study these galaxies with several radio antennas To do what is called interferometry. ” Jota studies neutral hydrogen, which is the first thing that loses a galaxy when it interacts with another.
She does not observe hydrogen directly. Actually, the antennas detect radio waves emitted by hydrogen. These waves can be measured and represented graphically. The analysis of hydrogen variation in a galaxy talks about evolution.
“The availability of hydrogen in a galaxy, for example, gives indications of where stars can be formed,” he says.
“The galaxies can be alone, in groups or in clusters -that is many galaxies. The surprising thing is that the gas that was torn from the galaxies is among them. Then many questions arise. What about that gas?Can other galaxies be formed?”, Reflexiona, which.
The interferometers – the great antennas that capture data – are open to the entire astronomical community. “I work with data that come from India, from Australia, from the United States. One presents a project and is evaluated by its peers. If you approve it, you have observation time, ”says Alegre saponara. In this way, the Radio Astronomic community is open to the international community and in that way, also, to the universe.
Ways of living
For years, the search for life in the universe had as a thread the water. The existence of extraterrestrial life was based on the possibilities that The planet candidate to house organisms It could have liquid water, origin of life as we know it. However, that idea faded in recent times.
“Our laboratory is part of a group of institutions associated with the NASA Institute of Astrobiology, which among other objectives Explore habitability and evidence of life in the universe”, Explains Diego Ferreiro, principal researcher at CONICET.
Together with Ignacio Sánchez, he leads the Protein Physiology Laboratory of the Institute of Biological Chemistry (Iquibicen) at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires.
The two, in the company of physicist Ezequiel Galpern presented a project that obtained financing from the US space agency for Analyze the behavior of proteins in different solvents. Pencil and paper in hand, made calculations based on statistical mechanics models. Working analogically, their results kicked the board.
“For a molecule to be considered protein, it must be folding, codifiable -that is, the information for the formation of Its functional structure can be summarized in letters– And evolutionable, which means that you can change over time, ”explains Ferreiro.
Proteins are large and complex molecules formed by chains of small blocks called amino acids. The function they play depends on how these chains foldand this folding is not random, but is determined by a series of physical and chemical variables.
“Our results show that other solvents, beyond water, such as alcohols and some hydrocarbons, allow protein folding that They could fulfill biological functions”, Explains Ferreiro. “We must not only seek evidence of life in the water,” he adds – but also in clouds composed of these solvents. “
The results were published by the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and had an echo throughout the planet (and perhaps throughout the universe).
“We answered the question of whether proteins can fold in other solvents. Yes, they can. But now, what proteins can be folded in this way? Only proteins formed by amino acids? ”Asks Ferreiro, who dreams of finding, in the future, proteins composed of components other than amino acids.
“This would have radical applications in areas such as biotechnology,” he concludes. The universe opens then, not as an empty space, but as A model to generate new knowledge that could radically transform our perception of life.
Mars by car
Mars has captivated humanity since ancient times. From its observation with the naked eye, when heaven allows it, to promises perhaps delusional of certain technological magnates, Mars question us. And Mara Mantegazza, from the Planetary Geology Laboratory, above all.
Mara Mantegazza investigates, through satellite images, the permafrost of Mars.“I study subsurface ice deposits, known as Permafrost, in various latitudes of Mars,” explains the geologist graduated at the University of Buenos Aires and Doctoral Doctoral Fellow of CONICET. “I work with satellite images and some more specific. “
His workplace is the Institute of Andean Studies Don Pablo Groeber (IDAN-CONICET), and as a good geologist, his approach to Mars has a perspective that is temporary.
“My goal is to understand the temporality of these deposits, when they formed or when it is more prone to form and how they evolve over time,” he continues. To do this, he uses Complex mathematical calculations on the orbit of Mars and data on solar radiation.
“In many cases, I take information from the rovers that operate on the surface. The Zhurong, sent by China, gives me very useful information, ”says Mara. Explains that your data is freely accessible, since different space agencies They spread satellite images and even some more specific.
“In fact, when we need an image of greater resolution of somewhere in particular, we ask and send them to us,” he adds.
Closer to Earth, his team collaborates with the Interdisciplinary Center for Space Studies (CIEE) that studies policies and Space Law taking into account geological foundations related to the exploitation and use of spatial resources.
“Although there is still a lot to make it, There is quite a lot of space mining. There are specific congresses on that, ”he says, and explains the ethical implications that this activity could have. “Yes, it is an issue that is gaining ground,” he reflects.
Mara hopes to conclude her doctorate at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences (UBA). Soon, it also plans to visit Antarctica, specifically the island disappointment, where it is known that they exist Underground ice deposits That they resemble those she studies on Mars, the planet who knows perfectly, but while having her feet on the ground.
Pioneers in space
“Argentina was always at the forefront,” says astronomer Cecilia Scalia from the Planetarium of the National University of La Plata. “From Córdoba, Belisario was sent to space, a mouse that made a suborbital flight aboard the Yará rocket. He returned safe and except. ” It was the first within the Bio project, A series of Argentine experiments developed in the 1960s to send living beings to space.
Cecilia Scalia, Astronoma, in the Planetarium of the National University of La Plata.“Better known was the monkey Juan, who in 1969 was launched from La Rioja and reached a height of 90 km. Experienced the ingrability and He did not need oxygen reserve”, Says Scalia, who is also the Secretary of Extension of the Faculty of Astronomical and Geophysical Sciences of the National University of La Plata. “He returned safely and saved and became a star in the Córdoba Zoo,” he says.
Then, Argentina became the fourth country of the world to send living beings to spacea feat previously achieved only by the United States, the Soviet Union and France.
Since then, and until today, passing through the unfinished condor board II, Arsat satellites and the Tronador II Argentina rocket continues to be a country with an eye on the universe.
