Costa Rica’s Second Space Mission Seeks Cure for The Panama Disease Race 4 -TR4- the plague that affects causes Banana Plantations Worldwide.

The mission aims to take the fungus responsible for the Panama Disease to the International Space Station to generate information for a possible cure by studying the effects of microgravity in its in genic expressions.

This mission is called MUSA Project and was developed by Costa Rican start-up Orbital Space Technologies. MUSA is led by students and young professionals with the support of the Swedish Space Corporation, Costa Rica Institute of Technology, and the Central American Association for Aeronautics and Space.

The MUSA project won the 6th Mission Idea Contest held by UNISEC in Tokyo Japan, it also won the Project with most potential for international cooperation award by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). 

Currently, the team is looking for help to finance the mission with crowdfunding to raise $30 000.