Crowdfunding campaign to orbit Costa Rica’s first satellite surpasses goal

As of Monday evening, Central America’s first satellite is one step closer to orbit. Less than 48 hours before deadline, just over 800 sponsors made it possible to surpass the crowdfunding campaign’s goal of $75,000 needed to send the region’s first satellite into space. The 10-centimeter (4-inch) satellite, known as a picosatellite, is the key element of the Irazú Project, named after Costa Rica’s highest volcano, located in Cartago province. Instruments on the satellite will take real-time measurements of temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide fixation. Data will be collected in a forest in Los Chiles, a mountainous area near Costa Rica’s border with Nicaragua, and will be used to evaluate the effects of climate change on forests. More

(Source: The Tico Times - Apr 20)