Reminder: Rebecca Charbonneauâs Presentation on the ALMA Telescope is this Thursday
Credit: Alex Pérez ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)
âThe ALMA Telescope: How International Partnerships
Transformed Astronomy in Latin Americaâ
Rebecca Charbonneau
Historian at the American Institute of Physics
Thursday, April 3, 2:00 pm EDT / 1:00 pm CDT / 11:00 am PDT on Teams (link
below)
Situated in the high-altitude Atacama Desert of northern Chile, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is an astronomical interferometer of
66 radio telescopes, jointly operated by an international partnership among Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Chile. With roots in three ambitious projectsâthe Millimeter Array (MMA) of the United States, the Large Southern
Array (LSA) of Europe, and the Large Millimeter Array (LMA) of JapanâALMA serves as a key case study in the history of international scientific collaboration and the politics of âbig science.â
This talk will trace the development of ALMA from its conceptual origins in the late 20th century to its realization as one of the most expensive
and expansive ground-based astronomical projects to date. Special attention will be given to Chileâs critical role in facilitating the siting of this instrument, which takes advantage of the unique atmospheric conditions of the Atacama Desert while also raising
questions about land use, international power dynamics, and local agency.
By exploring the history of ALMA, this talk will provide a critical perspective on the intersections of science, geopolitics, and Latin Americaâs
role in shaping global astronomy. It will examine how collaborative ventures like ALMA navigate longstanding asymmetries in global science, highlighting both the tensions and possibilities inherent in international scientific partnerships.
Rebecca Charbonneau is a historian of science with expertise
in radio astronomy and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). She is a historian at the American Institute of Physics and an adjunct assistant scientist at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Her first book, Mixed Signals: Alien Communication
Across the Iron Curtain (2024), tells the story of the Cold War-era race to communicate with alien intelligence.
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The Next Presentation in the Aerospace Latin America Seminar Series: April 17
Tracking NASA in Mexico: How Empalme-Guaymas Bridged Space Technology, Power, and Diplomacy
Gloria Maritza Gomez Revuelta
Universidad de Guadalajara
Thursday, April 17, 2:00 pm EDT / 1:00 pm CDT / 11:00 am PDT on Teams (link
below)
What can a single tracking station in northern Mexico reveal about NASA's role as an instrument of Cold-War science diplomacy? This talk explores space diplomacy through the Empalme-Guaymas tracking station, strategically positioned in NASA's Manned Space Flight
Network for Project Mercury. By critically analyzing the complex interactions between NASA, the Mexican government, scientific caudillos, and local populations, the research interrogates the nuanced regional, hemispheric, and global power dynamics embedded
in the small tracking station. It shows how different institutions, collectives and individuals negotiated, questioned, and shaped space diplomacy during the first years of space exploration. Drawing from newspaper archives, interviews, films, and other publications,
the study unpacks a rich microhistory of space diplomacyârevealing that it was far more than a technical exchange between national institutions, but a complex process characterized by social unrest, rumors, and fears, as well as love and celebration.
Gloria Maritza Gómez Revuelta (PhD in History, El Colegio de México) researches the histories of outer space and geophysics in Mexico and the broader Third World during the Cold War. She is a lecturer at Universidad de Guadalajara, where she hosts the
science and technology podcast Cosas de Sapiens. Her work has received support by, among other institutions, the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, the Freie Universität Berlin, and the Science History Institute. She is a member of the Science,
Technology and Diplomacy Committee of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology.
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