IAA-00-IAA.8.2.02
ALMA da AGUA: A Space Awareness Initiative
Dinis S A Ribeiro
port.space@ip.pt
Companhia Espacial Portuguesa, Lda.
Queluz, PORTUGAL
Richard Clar
Art Technologies,
Paris, FRANCE
rclar@arttechnologies.com
ABSTRACT
The launch of a
commemorative sounding rocket carrying a space art payload will herald the creation
of the Portuguese Space Agency. While addressing the technical aspects we will
articulate the ALMA da AGUA payload with ongoing projects from Companhia
Espacial Portuguesa Lda, namely its instrumentation department and the AEPOR
project. Water management issues in their variety illustrate well the complexity
of effectively using space technology as a tool for development. The diplomatic
coordination efforts needed in order to have eight countries in very different
stages of development, to link together and have a simultaneous international
event, will provide opportunities to train the staff of the Portuguese Space
Agency.
Introduction
This space awareness
initiative is not limited to the launch of the payload on a sounding rocket.
Water resources management is an issue of great importance to the various Portuguese-speaking
Countries. These are Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guiné-Bissau, Mozambique,
Portugal, São Tomé e Príncipe, and East Timor. There are
many different organizations that are important for water management, such as
the International Water Resources Association (IWRA), and international projects
such as the World Meteorological Organization Hydrological Cycle Observing System
(WMO-HYCOS). This field implies a broad interdisciplinary approach to a particularly
wide variety of issues. These problems are key to the economic development and
well-being of large populations, and must be addressed through a collaborative
effort using various tools including space technology. ALMA da AGUA or Soul
of the Water in English, is an interdisciplinary space art project that
seeks to involve various institutions within the PSC (Portuguese-Speaking Countries).
The project addresses metaphorically the possibility of greater technical unification
and deeper collaboration of Portuguese speaking countries and celebrates their
common bond of language, thus helping to create a greater awareness to facilitate
the launch of future collaborative efforts.
ALMA da AGUA begins with the gathering of natural source water samples from
all of the eight Portuguese-speaking countries. The individual water samples
are to be carried into space aboard a Brazilian sounding rocket (Sonda III)
where the samples will be exposed to low-gravity in order to mix the waters
in a new way and in a different environment. During
space flight, in a highly symbolic gesture, the waters will be combined by the
action of several apparatuses. A video camera and downlink antenna integrated
into the payload will provide live coverage of the waters floating in zero-g
and mixing in space. After an ocean splashdown, the mixed-waters payload of
ALMA da AGUA will be recovered by helicopter to be divided in eight equal samples
and returned to each departure point at cultural ceremonies in each of the participating
countries. These ceremonies will contribute to a greater awareness in all Portuguese-speaking
countries of the role that space technology can have in water management, from
flood control (using early warning systems) to environmental control of water
resources (using a network of low cost sensors). The creation of a permanent
group of water technicians using a dedicated computer network connecting the
eight countries is a key outcome of this initiative.
The ALMA da AGUA
sounding rocket payload was being planned for launch in October 2000 during
the 51st IAF Congress in Rio de Janeiro. It was hoped that the live coverage
of the flight could be presented during the Congress in addition to a world-wide
Internet web cast. This event is now currently scheduled for 2002. This space
awareness initiative is the fruit of a collaboration initiated by Richard Clar
of Art Technologies (AT) and Dinis Ribeiro of Companhia Espacial Portuguesa,
Lda. (CEP).
Goals of the
Project
There is a dual
purpose for the payload, first: the commemoration of Portugal joining the European
Space Agency and second: the launch of systematic technical cooperation among
all Portuguese speaking countries so that before the end of 2005, a space cooperation
agreement focused on using space technology tools for humanitarian purposes,
can be in effect.
Portuguese Space Activities
As the most recent member of ESA, Portugal has the possibility to benefit from
all the accumulated experiences of the other 14 member states. But it also has
the responsibility to include in its activities some of the potential conceptual
advances2 on how to run a space program that decades of pioneering
efforts from many countries have yielded.
Initially, ALMA da AGUA began as a space art project. However, due to the international
scope of its activities, and the potential humanitarian implications, it became
gradually interwoven with the ongoing creation of the Portuguese Space Agency
(AEPOR). Now, this awareness initiative aims strongly at creating specific follow-ups:
The A.L.M.A. organization and its associated computer network.
Portugal has lagged behind many other countries in developing space activities,
and there are still some disperse and un-coordinated efforts. Activities have
tended to be very centrifugal with highly specialized individuals
excelling here and there, but without a clear national goal. The oceans3 have
slowly emerged as a common ground, and as a possible unifying theme for all
Portuguese space projects. Yet, all the oceans, in their vastness, are also
part of something bigger: the hydrological cycle.
There is some interest in developing small payloads of interdisciplinary nature
that would promote the idea of the possibility of fusion, or at least of a greater
unification of efforts.
The Birth of
the Concept
In 1999, during
the IAF conference in Amsterdam the authors of this paper met when CEP was displaying
pictures from the ALMA prototype apparatus developed by Instrumentation Technology
Associates Inc. On this system, the A.L.M.A. device (Acceleration-induced Liquid
Mixing Apparatus) uses external forces, the launch g-load, to be able to mix
two liquids inside a vial.
Since the year
2000 marked the passing of 500 years since the discovery of Brazil by Portugal
took place, initially the idea was simply to mix Portuguese and Brazilian water
samples from natural sources or main rivers. However, upon reflection, it was
considered that several other countries also speak the Portuguese language and
these other countries actually have quite serious difficulties related to many
different water management issues.
The EARTHSTAR project4 was then presented whereby ceramic artifacts would be
created using soil samples gathered from specific countries engaged, or recently
engaged, in armed conflict. These soil samples combined are to be incorporated
into the thermal protection system of a recoverable spacecraft and fused together
in space by the heat generated during re-entry. On Earth, a pentagonal star
is described with a radius of 3, 207 km from the center-point in Crete. On each
of the five vertices, a marker is placed located by using GPS. The rays emanating
from the center-point in Crete to the vertices extend through regions of armed
conflict. The ceramic artifact created in space will be installed in Crete during
a ceremony celebrating the culture of the countries engaged in armed conflict.
In the midst of discussion, a hybrid idea gradually emerged. There was an analogy
between the concept of having the molten ceramics mixing together under the
reentry heat, and the idea of water samples mixing in reduced gravity. Both
are new materials in a new environment. There were humanitarian concerns with
both ideas as well. EARTHSTAR sought support from UNESCO through the Culture
of Peace Programme where the objective is to ensure that the conflicts
inherent in human relationships be resolved non-violently, based on the traditional
values of peace. In some ways the Alma da Agua initiative is like an EARTHSTAR
II project, with a different way of implementing the basic idea being envisaged.
Instead of unifying countries in a beautiful, yet purely mathematical
and neutral way along the geometric lines of EARTHSTAR, why not select countries
that have some old historical links and common problems? .
Paula Costa from CEP reflected upon the possible point of view of all the other
countries involved, and suggested that the exact nature of the cultural events
ought to be left to the initiative of each of the other seven participating
countries as long as they comply with the general theme of fostering cooperation.
Later, she coined the name Agrupamento Lusófono Multidisciplinar da Água
in order to help the creation of a bridge between the artistic ALMA and the
technical ALMA.
Why the idea of
soul of the water? Space technology is still felt as a soulless
endeavor. Its innermost nature is perceived all too often as being at the antipodes
of artistic thought. However, this is quite untrue, since many engineers express
their strong esthetic sensibility through mathematics or geometry or even CAD
layouts, and while using many other computer-generated images.
ARTISTIC ASPECTS
The Portuguese
Ministry of Science and Technology has launched a special program named Ciência
Viva or Living Science, aimed at raising the awareness of
the population about the fact that scientific culture is as necessary and important
as the classical culture5. It encourages people to try and use the experimental
method, instead of relying solely on established authorities as sources of knowledge.
The legitimacy
of Space Art
The importance
of space art has not yet been fully realized by some of the people involved
in space activities. It is usually seen as a secondary issue to be handled by
the Public Relations departments of space agencies in such a way that the technical
relevance of the payload is not jeopardized by overexposure of its debatable
artistic value.
The desire to have
space art as a recognized basic component of space programs is a natural consequence
of greater social involvement in these activities. Our effort seeks to excel
on both the technical aspects as well as the artistic ones. One possible indicator
of the degree of innovation present on space efforts might be the role that
is reserved to space artists. The more classical approach had given them a very
limited role, in charge of propaganda, logos, and press releases not venturing
outside the public relations department of large governmental organizations.
A more modern approach would tend to treat them as key intermediaries that help
bridge the gap between highly specialized and brilliant technicians and the
general public. The entertainment industry already allows much of
this to take place, however space artists are seldom at the center of space
projects, and they still remain seen almost as a secondary strap-on booster,
that can be discarded with little impact on real space projects.
The trend towards a greater role of the private sector may induce a gradual
change of paradigm and by the end of the century that is about to
begin, space artists may have a very different role.
Artistic components of Alma da Agua
To allow free expression of the particular points of view from each of the eight
countries, they are invited to propose to CEP, the specific artistic events
with which they may want to participate in this awareness initiative. In each
country a local committee of three individuals will be established, to run the
local selection process and assist the preparation of the events. Each country
will select two songs and two live performances that must include at least one
dance event to accompany the two international artistic events to be presented.
Simultaneous artistic
events
Launch day Returning of Samples
Song A Song B
Live Performance A Live Performance B
Table 1 All the eight countries will contribute
The first series
of eight simultaneous events will occur during the launch, and the second series
during the ceremonies that will mark the return of the water sample resulting
from mixing of the eight individual samples that flew together on the rocket.
Since we want to help all the writers that write in the Portuguese language
to become aware of the possibilities opened by entering the space age,
a parallel competition is suggested, so that essays and other publications can
be enabled. New support media for the written materials should be encouraged,
not just multimedia, but also e-books, or any other new experimental way of
conveying the written word.
Elements of the various live performances:
Music Video Dance Poetry
Table 2 Suggested structure for the events
Art Technologies will play a critical role, since it will be in charge of the
webcast, that in turn will act as a synchronizing element designed to enhance
the impact on the public.
As an example for these events, there already is one song selected by Portugal:
It is called O Paraíso (the paradise) and it seeks to illustrate
the need to face the difficulties to do new things so that one can reach some
kind of better condition.
To take space art seriously may be difficult for some people, yet it may be
part of the way to the paradise of real public support. The Portuguese
composer Pedro Ayres Magalhães from the group Madredeus composed this
sad and nostalgic song. Partial excerpt from the words of the song in Portuguese
and in English:
Subi a escada de papelão
...
Não leva a nada
Não leva não
É só uma escada de papelão
...
Há outra entrada no Paraíso
Mais apertada
Mais, sim senhor
...
Eu só conheço
Esse caminho
Do Paraíso
I climbed the cardboard
ladder
It leads nowhere
Nowhere at all
It is just a cardboard ladder
Yet, there is another path into Paradise
More difficult and narrow
Yes sir, quite narrower
...
As it happens, I only know
That path
To Paradise
To enable the preparation and later support for the transmission of this international
event we hope to be able to use an initial version of the computer network that
will later become part of the follow-up to the awareness initiative.
The Portuguese
critical mass paradigm
We were delighted
to accept the layout of eight cylindrical components (water bladders) on this
payload, proposed by Fokker Space, in order to evoke a stylized fusion
experiment where you have several lasers firing simultaneously onto a
central sample so that the needed temperature and pressure conditions are reached.
The new entity that will be created on the day of the launch, seeks to bring
together simultaneously several entities, somehow reaching a symbolic
critical mass. The critical mass paradigm is used oftentimes
in public relations when dealing with high technology matters. In Portugal there
was an endless debate about when it would be the right time to start a space
program, because we did not yet have enough human resources (critical mass)
to start a chain reaction. This analogy is frequently used in a
incomplete way, since it is not enough to throw together all the necessary human
resources.
A way of clearly focusing different efforts is necessary. Public opinion must
be motivated by a special event so that what is created is somehow
greater than the simple sum of all the components.
TECHNICAL ASPECTS
We conceived this
particular project and payload so that it can become a precursor of a future
family of payloads, used in education, research and development, and commercial
activities. All of the systems discussed in this section have esthetic value
and therefore will be available for various artistic events.
The ALMA da
AGUA payload
Under the current
initial design it will weigh approximately 10 Kg and is expected to have a diameter
of 30 cm, in order to be compatible with the Sonda III sounding rocket. It will
have a lower section with eight water bladders all pointing to the water mixing
chamber located in the center of this lower section. Each one of the bladders
will have its water sample from each of the eight participating countries. Valves
will inject the water into the mixing chamber where they will coalesce producing
images similar to the ones obtained in
drop tower experiments with liquid bridges. A mirror placed on top at 45 degrees
from the support plate where the batteries and camera are mounted will allow
a live video recording of the water images that will be down linked in real
time. An illumination box installed in the bottom of the payload will provide
the light.
Fig. 2 Initial computer model
Fig. 3 Elements of sounding rocket payload
In the future, on new sounding rocket payloads using this same basic configuration,
by replacing the eight water reservoirs with totally different instruments,
this basic configuration can be used to focus electromagnetic6 or acoustic energy
in samples on the central chamber. Several fluid physics experiments can be
designed. Studying sloshing is a possibility. Companhia Espacial Portuguesa,
has its fledgling Instrumentation Department in charge of assisting Portuguese
partners in the development of the payload.
It is hoped that some components will be built in Portugal and Brazil. Additional
components from other companies could be added to this basic configuration.
There are several technical issues that can provide the training opportunities
needed to create a Portuguese team that will work with sounding rocket payloads
in the future.
Launch preparation: (filling of the water
bladders will take place in Portugal.)
Mechanical aspects: (exact diameter, type of
joints, etc.)
Center of gravity requirements
Static-g and vibration load
Antennas available, choice of matching
ground station
Recovery module tests (Parachute, float, buoy
with transponder, etc.)
Tracking and telemetry / video reception
(frequency; link budgets)
Payload recovery procedures (helicopter from
the Brazilian navy)
Recovery procedures (Sagres school ship
from the Portuguese navy to observe the
reentry)
Parabolic flights of the payload are being considered, in order to fine-tune
the creation of a nice looking floating sphere of mixed water resulting from
the coalescence of the eight samples.
Fig. 4 Possible
layout for parabolic flight-testing
In order to maximize the technological returns from the flight, a customized
set of accelerometers could be installed. An improved GPS on board would allow
this sub-orbital flight to yield data that can be useful for future improvements
on recovery procedures from the Atlantic ocean. Miniaturized cosmic ray detectors
could be tested.
Infrastructures already available
Having enabled the first 100% private payload,7 from Portugal, the Portuguese
Microgravity Emulsion Experiment on STS-95 in October 1998, CEP has identified
several simple upgrades that can be developed with Portuguese partners. After
joining ESA in 1999, there is an emerging need8 for various general-purpose
support services in Portugal that can be made available to any interested party
with great flexibility and low cost.
Fig. 5 Companhia
Espacial Portuguesa (CEP) offices are located at the Cascais airfield in Portugal
to provide a wide scope of logistic support for payload checkout. We have a
wide area available for development and rehearsals of complex new theatrical
and musical events.
Smaller space art payloads can be added as piggy backs on this flight. An example
would be a low power consumption microphone to record and downlink live all
the sounds, from the launch to the sloshing sounds of the water mixing, until
the thump of landing in the ocean. A payload camera installed outside
facing down would provide images of the launch site being left behind.
The AEPOR Project
In order to open up an equitable access to space projects for all interested
parties in Portugal, a project to develop four basic infrastructures is currently
underway. A new entity AEPOR, S.A., is being created. Its structure is
somewhat atypical and quite similar to a Public Private Partnership (PPP) promoting
a modern business approach. In AEPOR, the AE stands for Agência
Espacial / Space Agency. The POR stands for Portugal.
AEPOR Ground-based InfrastructuresAEPOR Computer Network
AEPOR Mission Control BusAEPOR Airborne LaboratoryTable 3 Main components of
AEPOR projectThis new entity will provide support services and incentives to
any Portuguese institution or individual wishing to interact with all the national
space agencies and space-related international organizations, such as IAF, COSPAR,
UNESCO, UNCOPUOS, ITU, WMO, EURISY, and other similar organizations.
The ALMA da AGUA payload will belong to Companhia Espacial Portuguesa up until
the launch day. During the apogee of the sub-orbital trajectory of the sounding
rocket it will then become property of the AEPOR organization.
A new kind of Technical Space Museum
The value and nature of space artifacts tends to evolve in time. Depending on
the owner, first they are state of the art technological jewels,
and then become operational items. Later they tend to be considered obsolete,
while some reach considerable historical value.
These relatively old payloads that are no longer flying but that
can be operated as part of ground based experiments could provide a humble
low cost approach for many countries to have access to technologies that are
no longer on the leading edge but that can still get part of the
job done enabling training programs as well.
The International Space Museum was initially suggested by CEP as a way to use
old microgravity payloads as a teaching tool associated to the creation of an
permanent archive where old software would be made available to software engineers9
as was suggested during the DASIA - Data Systems in Aerospace conference held
in Lisbon in May of 1999.
The International Space Museum is to be designed and managed by AEPOR, under
its infrastructures program, together with ESA and as many international partners
as possible.
One part of the Museum will be open to normal visitors; the rest will include
various research facilities, including a refurbishing lab, where old payloads
will get upgraded if possible. All of the available components and systems will
be used for various space art events, and then returned to the refurbishing
lab. The International Space Museum is expected to be ready before the end of
2005, at the latest.
Creating Space Business Opportunities
Brazilian and Portuguese companies and institutes could join the ALMA da AGUA
initiative, by providing additional instrumentation such as the low power consumption
microphone to record the sloshing sounds of the mixing water, the GPS payload,
customized accelerometers, miniaturized cosmic ray detectors, and needle-like
nozzles or tubes to reduce the distance the water jets would need to travel
before mixing.
While developing this new instrumentation, small mock-ups or demonstration models
will be built. When not in use by the scientists and engineers they shall be
used in regular multimedia artistic displays, with live music, providing a way
to involve the various publics with the development process, in an esthetic
and technical way simultaneously.
In terms of merchandizing space art, there is a small series of eight jewels
already under development to be made available on the day of the launch. On
the commercial Portuguese space shop that will be opening in November at www.astroporto.com
it will be possible to become a sponsor of the ALMA da Agua project, ensuring
an opportunity for any interested private or public entity to support our goals
choosing from a wide scope of sponsorships.
THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
This project is launched by the space awareness initiative and will last
over a five-year period in order to be able to reach its goals.
1st Step
November 2000
Gathering of eight natural source water samples is initiated
2nd Step
Fall 2001
Preparation of artistic competition
3rd Step
September 2002? Launch of sounding rocket and full activation of AEPOR
4th Step
Until the end of 2002
Creation of the ALMA organization.
Returning the Samples End of artistic events
5th Step
Spring 2003
Presentation of enabled follow-ups
6th Step
Fall 2003
Start of monthly web casts on water resources
7th Step
Spring 2004
Network linking all the Portuguese speaking countries fully established and
staffed
8th Step
2005 : Space cooperation agreement or treaty
among all the Portuguese speaking countriesTable 4 Major milestones of the project
We hope to have a simultaneous TV coverage, and webcast. It should
be available to all the communities of Portuguese speaking people all over the
world. The live sound of the launch is to be picked up and transmitted. The
TV coverage we seek will be open to any experimental innovation in multimedia
that possible sponsors may want to test.
Press Coverage Strategy
In order to assist the members of the press from all the participating countries,
special workshops will be held regularly in Portugal in the laboratory where
the samples will be loaded into the payload. International TV coverage of the
launch is being prepared so that this event can have the appropriate impact
needed to launch the collaboration among all Portuguese-speaking countries.
There will be a web cast of the sounding rocket launch. The official site of
the Companhia Espacial Portuguesa Lda (www.cep.pt) and the official site of
the initiative (www.almadaagua.org) will keep regular updates of the initiative.
These sites will be available in late November 2002.
Displaying the water samples
There will be a cylindrical central room with the flown samples and eight additional
rooms, one for each participating country. These will display satellite pictures
of water resources and cultural artifacts from the countries. They will also
have the water samples that were initially collected with information about
their chemical composition and environmental characterization of the natural
source. Portuguese specialists on stand design and construction for museums
and fairs (EUROSTAND) are already developing a detailed layout.
Portuguese Speaking Countries
The Comunidade dos Países de Lingua Portuguesa (CPLP) and
the Países Africanos de Lingua Oficial Portuguesa (PALOP)
are natural partners for this initiative. However it is still a relatively young
organization, and the markedly technical nature of the Alma da Agua initiative
is perhaps better suited to be handled in its initial stages by the public relations
departments of existing space agencies.
The Foreign Affairs Ministries of all the eight countries will have an important
role in these efforts. At a later stage, several additional groups and organizations
may get involved.
EXPECTED RESULTS
The short term results that are sought have to do with having enough common
people in all the countries that use the Portuguese language to become aware
of the various capabilities that Brazil has developed, and of the fact that
by joining ESA Portugal might now be enabled to assist better the European space
industry in becoming relatively more involved with humanitarian issues, in a
global perspective.
A contribution to the European Space Strategy
One could use an oversimplified formula such as ESA + European Union
= ESS (European Space Strategy) to provide a cognitive framework
clarifying the rationale of this effort. The European space efforts in the past
have not been particularly directed to global issues and markets. There are
ongoing efforts to harmonize10 space technology. One possible role for the most
recent member of ESA, would be to take advantage of a particular global network
of different regions that have cultural ties with Portugal, and thus assist
once again Europe in its global endeavors. The AEPOR Airborne Lab is being designed11
with this goal in mind. Its payloads and cargo will be of scientific, technical,
commercial and artistic nature.
Broadening Existing Programs
So that several existing international programs can be broadened to all of the
Portuguese speaking countries, this initiative will promote specific artistic
events related to, and somehow involving a wide number of organizations and
programs. These will potentially come to include a wide variety of projects.
One was selected as an indicative example: As part of the WMO, the World Meteorological
Organization, there is the World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS)
that is composed of several regional systems (HYCOSs) implemented by cooperating
nations, that complement national efforts to provide the information required
for water resource management.
Fig. 6 Current global distribution of Hydrological Cycle Observing System (HYCOS) from WMO
ANGOLA (A)
Congo HYCOS or
SADC HYCOS ?
BRASIL (B)
Not in HYCOS?
CAPE VERDE (C)
AOC HYCOS
GUINÉ-BISSAU (G)
AOC HYCOS
MOÇAMBIQUE (M)
SADC HYCOS
PORTUGAL (P)
MED HYCOS
SÃO TOMÉ E PRINCÍPE (S)
Congo HYCOS
TIMOR (T)
Not in HYCOS?Table 5 Global distribution of HYCOS coverage
Setting up the A.L.M.A. computer network
Currently, less than 1% of the total population of the African continent has
good access to the Internet. The computer network from the AEPOR will have a
special layer customized to provide interfaces with all the Portuguese-speaking
countries. In order to start weaving this network, a pilot project is the specific
A.L.M.A. initial network. These initials stand for Agrupamento Lusofono
Multidisciplinar da Agua, which can be translated to English as Portuguese
Language Multidisciplinary Water Group. Nevertheless, water resources
data cannot be fully used separately from other data. There is also a lack of
comprehensive data on the physical environment, terrestrial ecosystem processes,
and socio-economic forces that are changing them. We think that this effort
cannot be conceived without taking in account the need for a future broader
network, since water resources affect deeply food resources, health issues,
environmental issues, availability of jobs, and so on.
To work properly, this whole effort should not only rely on a top-down approach,
but also depend on a bottom-up continuous feedback. Artists can provide an initial
way to deal with new issues that can later be integrated into the computer network.
Therefore, the network will have to be used to promote a sustained public relations
campaign, thus needing to be able to send through the internet various digital
music and video presentations in order to maintain an interesting and open cultural
program going on, in a regular basis.
Fig. 7 Top view of a room with the minimum number of computers needed to make
up each initial node of A.L.M.A. computer networkTraining Staff for AEPOR
One of the main goals of the space policy of the Portuguese Ministry of Science
and Technology is to focus on training Portuguese scientists and technicians.
This Space Awareness Initiative although relatively simple from
the technological point of view is somewhat more complex if we consider all
the diplomatic coordination efforts needed in order to have eight countries
in very different stages of development linked together. The AEPOR organization
is being set up in order to provide logistical support to very diverse and far-reaching
future international partnerships. This initiative provides a good training
opportunity. To promote student awareness and participation in Portugal, CEP
has established a protocol with the magazine Via Universitária
and a special website will be available before the end of 2002.
Cooperation between Portugal and Brazil
Various Portuguese entities need regular access to outer space and reduced gravity
conditions in order to develop instrumentation and train technical support staff.
Working with the Centro de Investigação das Ferrugens do
Cafeeiro, which is part of the Instituto de Investigação
Cientifica Tropical, CEP selected some samples of fungi that grow on coffee
plants, and through collaboration with ITA Inc. had them launched on a sub-orbital
flight on the 15th of March 1999, during the Operação São
Marcos VS-30 sounding rocket flight. They were the first Portuguese samples
onboard a Brazilian sounding rocket. Reflights of the basic ALMA da AGUA payload
with a number of upgrades and modifications (for Microgravity12 or Astrophysics)
can provide a simple way to establish an initial collaboration that can lead
to the establishment of more complex future joint efforts. These efforts may
be conducted under the framework of the European Cooperation for Space Standardization
(ECSS), and the Rede Brasileira de Informações para Normalização
de Atividades Espaciais (RBNAE).
Desirable long term outcomes
The motivation behind this awareness initiative is the desire to create the
necessary conditions so that a future cooperation agreement or treaty among
all the Portuguese-speaking countries can be envisaged. The Portuguese Air and
Space Law Association (Associação Portuguesa de Direito Aéreo
e Espacial - APDAE) during a workshop in May 2000 began exploring which steps
would be necessary to accomplish and what would be the correct sequence to allow
the creation of the basis for such a future cooperation effort.
There is a strong need to have information about the environment available in
the local language, so that the utilization of space technology tools is not
limited to a tiny elite of individuals, and enough people have real access to
the basic data. Simplified interfaces can help many reach the desired improvement
of the quality of life. The development of enough materials written in Portuguese
may be one of the possible keys to
allow entire populations a more equitable access to the benefits of the space
age.
Future Portuguese national space-related legislation13, currently under development14,
will try to promote a modern attitude towards space art, keeping it closely
interwoven15 with technical issues, from the very beginning. In Portugal, small
space art payloads could help provide a bridge between the private and public
sector, allowing a more balanced partnership.
CONCLUSION
The Alma da Agua Space Awareness Initiative is a hybrid effort, with 60% of the scheduled activities being of technical nature, and 40% of the actions and events associated having to be labeled as being of artistic or sociological nature, aimed at providing a flexible information feedback channel to enable a continuous fine tuning of the effort. The initial artistic interaction with all the space age technology will be followed by a more technical utilization of space tools such as remote sensing, positioning, and water quality data acquisition and dissemination. A viability study on technology transfer initiatives including Alma da Agua is being developed under a consulting contract from ESA.
REFERENCES
1. Instituto Camões
: www.instituto-camoes.pt
2. Dinis Ribeiro, Expanding the concept of space program paper LBS-88-180,
Symposium on lunar bases and space activities in the 21st Century, NASA
/ AIAA Houston TX 1988
3. Dinis Ribeiro, The Berlenga Underwater Survey Project by Companhia
Espacial Portuguesa, Lda., edited by ESA SP-312 Space & Sea December 1990
4. Richard Clar, EARTHSTAR: A Space Art Eutectic in 48th International
Astronautical Congress, October 6-10, 1997/Turin, Italy.
5. C.P. Snow The Two Cultures and A Second Look published by Cambridge
University Press, 1959
6. Shinichi Yoda, Susumu Yoshitomi, Yoshinori Fujjimori, Tomihisa Nakamura,
and Toshitami Ikeda, Levitation Technology Development in NASDA
Development of Electrostatic Levitation Furnace for the International Space
Station and for TR-1A Rocket Experiment, in 48th International Astronautical
Congress, October 6-10, 1997/Turin, Italy.
7. The first Portuguese microgravity experiment - A pilot project to initiate
the study of food industry emulsions in microgravity on STS-95, published
in CIBX-1 Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments press release, October 1998.
8. Dinis Ribeiro, Launch of Gravity-Dependent Phenomena Projects in Portugal
in Low G Journal, Vol. 9 N† 1, March 1998.
9. DASIA 99 - Data Systems in Aerospace, Abstracts ESA SP-447, Lisbon,
Portugal, May 17-21, 1999
10. Workshop on European Strategy for Space Technology Seville, May 2000 CDTI,
European Union, Eurospace
11. Impact 2000: Technology Transfer Programme, ESA BR-154, (Spanish
Version), published by ESA Publications Division, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands,
February, 2000.
12. Summary Review of Sounding Rocket Experiments In Fluid Science and
Materials Sciences, ESA SP-1132, published by ESA Publications Division,
ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, February 1991.
13. Portuguese Space-Related Legislation Paper IISL-92-0022 in World
Space Congress, Washington D.C. 1992
14. Frans G. Von Der Dunk, Private Enterprise and Public Interest in the
European Spacescape Towards Harmonized National Space Legislation for
Private Space Activities in Europe, International Institute of Air and
Space Law, Leiden, The Netherlands, 1998.
15. Dinis Ribeiro As Industrias da cultura e a adesão de Portugal
á ESA in Revista FUTURO 1989
16. ESTEC/Contract N†. 15455/01/NL/PA Final report due
in December 2001
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