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After half an hour’s windswept journey on foot and by boat through a craggy forested estuary to the school he attends in remote southern Chile, Diego Guerrero can finally access the Internet.

His school is located in the hamlet of Sotomo, around 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) south of the capital Santiago in the region of Los Lagos and inhabited by just 20 families.

A rain-drenched scattering of brightly painted wooden and tin houses, Sotomo stands out against a mist-swathed row of rocky outcrops jutting out into the Pacific Ocean. It can be accessed only by boat.

For decades, its inhabitants have survived by catching mussels and fish to sell at market, a five-hour round-trip away by boat.

starlink spacex internet chile school john f kennedy pablo sanhueza reuters starlink_spacex_internet_chile_school_john_f_kennedy_pablo_sanhueza_reuters

A father and son arrive at John F Kennedy School in the village of Sotomo, Chile
Photo Credit: Reuters/ Pablo Sanhueza

Now, it is one of two places in Chile to be chosen for a pilot project run by billionaire Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX, to receive free Internet for a year.

Starlink, a division of SpaceX, aims to roll out 12,000 satellites as part of a low-Earth orbiting network to provide low-latency broadband Internet services around the world, with a particular focus on remote areas that terrestrial Internet infrastructure struggles to reach.

Since October, it has been offering a ‘Better Than Nothing Beta’ program to subscribers in the United States, while also running pilot trials in other countries. In Chile, a second antennae will be installed in Caleta Sierra, a small fishing port close to the arid northern deserts.

The plan is key to generating the funds that SpaceX needs to fund Musk’s dream of developing a new rocket capable of flying paying customers to the moon and eventually trying to colonize Mars.

For Diego, aged 7, stable Internet is a dream enough.

“I really like the Internet because we can do homework,” he said. “It’s faster so we can do more of it.”

Starlink did not reply to a Reuters request for comment. SpaceX chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell said in a July statement about the Chilean pilot: “Starlink was designed for remote communities like those in Caleta Sierra and Sotomo. High-speed connectivity can have a transformational impact on these communities.”

Broadening Horizons

Diego’s favorite subject at school is math. He wants to be a sailor, and loves to go out on his father Carlos’s fishing boat.

Carlos, 40, has more ambitious plans for his son and hopes the window onto the world the new Internet connection will give him will broaden his horizons.

He takes Diego to school daily by boat, often battling wind and rain to get him there.

starlink spacex internet chile sotomo shop pablo sanhueza reuters starlink_spacex_internet_chile_sotomo_shop_pablo_sanhueza_reuters

A man stands in the doorway of one of only two stores in the village of Sotomo, Chile
Photo Credit: Reuters/ Pablo Sanhueza

“I didn’t have the option of going to school so you do it whatever the conditions, good or bad weather or pandemic, even if it’s difficult,” he said.

“If he has a good education, he has that option and is eager to do it, then you have all the hopes of any father, that maybe one day all the children from Sotomo can go on to professional jobs.”

Using tablets provided by the education ministry, the school’s seven pupils can now tap into online learning material, watch films, do virtual museum visits and try out video calls to children in other schools.

Their sole teacher at Sotomo’s John F Kennedy School, Javier de la Barra, said he also looked forward to using it for professional development.

The signal is received via a satellite dish installed on the school’s roof, which transmits through a Wi-Fi device to most of its facilities and outdoor patio. Eventually, the plan is to extend it to the rest of the hamlet.

It only works from noon to midnight, because of a constrained supply of diesel to the generator that supplies power to Sotomo.

Nonetheless, said de la Barra, it is a significant advance on the patchy mobile Internet signal that residents currently can get on their phones by leaning out of windows or paddling out into the bay.

The Starlink antennae was installed in July and inaugurated earlier this month in a ceremony attended by Transport and Telecommunications Minister Gloria Hutt.

She said she hoped Starlink would prove key in bridging Chile and the wider region’s digital divide – an issue laid bare with the advent of coronavirus lockdowns that left people without good Internet struggling to work or study.

Chile has among the highest Internet penetration rates on the continent, with 21 million mobile Internet connections among its population of 19 million as of March 2021, according to government figures.

But as the families in Sotomo can attest, having mobile Internet does not mean you can always get a signal.

“I love living here,” said Carlos Guerrero. “It’s tranquil, my family is without stress, but we do lack connectivity, roads, electricity and drinking water.

“What would be great is if all these services could be extended around our community, not just to a small part, so everyone could enjoy them.”

© Thomson Reuters 2021


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NASA’s Perseverance Rover Observes Googly Eye Eclipse on Mars

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NASA's Perseverance Rover Observes Googly Eye Eclipse on Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover which is positioned in the Jezero Crater on Mars, recently observed a remarkable celestial event as the moon Phobos drifted across the Sun. Captured on September 30, this moment offered a rare glimpse into Mars’ sky, where the unique “googly eye” effect of the eclipse unfolded for the rover’s Mastcam-Z camera. The video, released by NASA, illustrates the interplay of Martian moon orbits and provides valuable information on Phobos’ trajectory and its gradual shift towards Mars.

Unexpected Eclipse Creates ‘Googly Eye’ View on Mars

Perseverance, which has been observing Mars’ surface and sky since 2021, recorded the silhouette of Phobos moving rapidly across the Sun’s face from Mars’ western Jezero Crater. Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two moons, created a distinct “googly eye” visual effect as it partially blocked sunlight, a phenomenon not typically visible from Earth. The eclipse, captured on the mission’s 1,285th sol (Martian day), highlights Phobos’ swift orbit, which takes just 7.6 hours to complete a full circle around Mars. Due to its close orbit, Phobos regularly crosses Mars’ sky, allowing for these brief transits which last only about 30 seconds each.

Phobos’ Eerie Path and Future on Mars

Phobos, named by astronomer Asaph Hall in 1877 after the Greek deity associated with fear, measures about 27 kilometres at its widest. Unlike Earth’s larger moon, Phobos appears far smaller in the Martian sky. Its orbit brings it closer to Mars with time, which scientists predict will eventually cause Phobos to collide with the Martian surface within the next 50 million years. Past eclipses of Phobos, also recorded by other Mars rovers like Curiosity and Opportunity, continue to contribute essential data for understanding Mars’ moons and their shifting orbits.

Perseverance’s Mission and Future Mars Exploration

As part of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission, Perseverance focuses on exploring Martian geology and astrobiology. The mission, managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), is the first to collect samples of Mars’ surface material, which are intended to be retrieved in future joint missions with the European Space Agency (ESA). Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z, developed with support from Arizona State University, Malin Space Science Systems, and the Niels Bohr Institute, plays a crucial role in gathering high-resolution imagery to support geological studies. This mission aligns with NASA’s broader objective of preparing for human exploration on Mars, beginning with the Artemis missions to the Moon.

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South Korea teams up with NASA to send solar research tool to ISS

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South Korea teams up with NASA to send solar research tool to ISS

South Korea’s space agency announced plans on Friday to launch a solar coronagraph to the International Space Station (ISS) in a collaborative mission with NASA. Developed as part of the Coronal Diagnostic Experiment (CODEX), this instrument is set to observe and gather data on the Sun’s corona and the solar wind as well as the stream of charged particles that flows from the Sun’s outer atmosphere. The CODEX device is scheduled to be launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on Monday, as reported by Yonhap News Agency.

Bilateral Project to Examine Solar Atmosphere

The CODEX project represents a very important collaboration between the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KASA) and NASA, with CODEX marking a pioneering achievement as the world’s first coronagraph equipped to measure temperature, velocity, and density within the solar wind. Once aboard the ISS, CODEX will be mounted on the station’s express logistics carrier, allowing for approx 55 minutes of solar observation in each 90-minute orbit around Earth. This data is expected to enhance researchers’ understanding of the solar wind, potentially aiding in space weather forecasting efforts.

South Korea’s Expanded Cooperation with NASA

Alongside the CODEX project, South Korea and the United States have broadened their partnership in space exploration. KASA and NASA signed a statement of cooperation, focusing on research initiatives including the Artemis lunar exploration programme. KASA’s involvement with the Artemis project includes studies on sustainable lunar exploration and advancements in Mars mission preparations. With this agreement, South Korea has become the fifth nation to officially collaborate with NASA on such initiatives.

Pioneering Studies and Technological Advancements

Under the framework of this agreement, South Korea and the US will work together on a variety of feasibility studies related to lunar landers, as well as advancements in communication, navigation, and astronaut support systems. In addition, collaborative efforts will span lunar surface science, autonomous power, robotic systems, and cis-lunar space operations—the area between Earth and the Moon.

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NASA’s satellite reveals fascinating tsunami data in Greenland

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NASA's satellite reveals fascinating tsunami data in Greenland

An unprecedented nine-day tsunami following a significant rockslide in Greenland’s Dickson Fjord was recently recorded by the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, a collaborative mission by NASA and France’s Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES). The event, which took place in September 2023, saw a unique pattern of seismic waves resonate around the world, marking one of the rare instances where satellite data captured a prolonged natural phenomenon with such clarity.

Satellite’s Breakthrough Detection in Remote Fjord

As per a report by NASA, the rockslide unleashed over 25 million cubic meters of rock and ice into the fjord, displacing the water and creating a massive wave that moved rhythmically between the fjord walls every 90 seconds for nine consecutive days. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist Josh Willis highlighted this as a first, saying, “SWOT’s technology allowed us to see the wave contours, something we couldn’t achieve before.” The water levels on the northern side of Dickson Fjord rose as high as 1.2 metres in contrast to the southern side, emphasising the powerful impact of the rockslide.

Advanced Technology for Global Hazard Monitoring

At an altitude of around 900 kilometres, SWOT utilises a Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) to measure surface water height with precision. This technology captured the event’s effects in the confined fjord setting, which conventional altimeters could not do due to their larger footprint. Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, a scientist at NASA Headquarters, noted that this capability highlights SWOT’s potential for monitoring hazards, contributing to preparedness and disaster risk reduction.

Innovative Partnership in Satellite Research

Since its launch in December 2022, SWOT has been instrumental in mapping global water levels. Developed with contributions from the Canadian and UK space agencies, NASA leads the mission’s U.S. operations, including the KaRIn instrument, with CNES managing various onboard systems and support. The data collected promises ongoing contributions to scientific understanding of Earth’s water dynamics.

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