Aerospace Latin America: A History

2025 Seminar Series

Throughout 2025, the NASA History Office is presenting a seminar series on the topic of Aerospace Latin America. This series will explore the origins, evolution, and historical context of aerospace in the region since the dawn of the Space Age, touching on a broad range of topics including aerospace infrastructure development, space policy and law, Earth science applications, and much more.

This seminar series is part of a collaborative effort to gather insights and research that will conclude in an anthology of essays to be published as a NASA History Special Publication. Individual presentations are being held virtually bi-weekly or monthly.

Upcoming Presentations

"The ALMA Telescope: How International Partnerships Transformed Astronomy in Latin America"

Rebecca Charbonneau (American Institute of Physics)

Thursday, April 3 at 1 pm CST

By exploring the history of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in northern Chile, this talk will provide a critical perspective on the intersections of science, geopolitics, and Latin America’s 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.

“Tracking NASA in Mexico: How Empalme-Guaymas Bridged Space Technology, Power, and Diplomacy”

Gloria Maritza Gomez Revuelta

Thursday, April 17 at 1 pm CST

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 diplomacy—revealing 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.

How to Attend

These presentations will be held via Microsoft Teams. For details on how to attend the meetings, join the NASA History mailing list to receive updates. Just send a blank email to history-join@lists.hq.nasa.gov to join. Alternatively, send us an email to receive a link for the next meeting.