with India going to Mars, i am just wondering when Africa would start doing such things too.

I found out that Africa is also engaged in its own space research and development programme too.. So far, African countries have being able to lauch space sattelites to space and some are building telescope for educayional reasons.

Nigeria is planning to send a man to space by 2015. The astronaut is currently undergaoing training as we speak.

Over a period of time, i would be looking every where so as to get information on various African countries' space programme.

Illuminatus: I don't think launching expensive toys (space crafts) into other planets and learning about them should be our priority now. We barely understand ourselves as it is.

So we should be stagnant development-wise because of this?

@illuminatus i think your questions have been answered here.

Of all the stupid things written about
Africa in the British press, the recent
fussing about space programmes is
among the stupidest. If you’re lucky
enough not to have come across the
story, it concerns countries that receive
development aid from Britain and also
have space programmes of one kind of
another. Outrageous, say UKIP, the
tabloids and the anti-aid brigade.
“If a foreign government has enough
cash to invest in an ambitious space
programme,” says Matthew Sinclair of the
ubiquitous Taxpayers Alliance, “it should
not expect to be receiving cash from the
UK which is earmarked for helping the
world’s poorest.” Tory MP Philip Davies
joins in: “We have got to say to these
countries ‘you have got to spend that
money on your people where it’s most
needed not on some grandiose space
programme’.”
There are a couple of assumptions here.
One is that these schemes are ‘grandiose’
or ambitious. The second is that they
won’t do any good for the poor. Neither
of those things is necessarily true.
First, despite the tabloid talk of ‘joining
the space race‘, these are generally not
vanity projects. Most often we’re talking
about astronomy programmes at African
universities, taking advantage of the
continent’s clear skies. If sending
anything into space is involved at all, it’s
satellites, not space missions. Usually the
satellites are carried on other countries’
rockets, such as China’s or Russia’s. The
main focus of space initiatives is often
academic, aimed at developing local
engineering expertise and encouraging
science and innovation.
“Space programs in Africa are not
focused on getting men in space,” says
Professor Nithaya Chetty of South Africa’s
space agency. “African governments are
finally coming around to understand the
critical importance of science as an
instrument for development. Training in
astronomy, and training in computing
and engineering leads to skills that are
very wide ranging and are transferable to
other disciplines.”
Some of the countries being talked about
have space programmes, but we
shouldn’t read too much into the idea.
Kenya is a leader in astronomy, but in
terms of actual spacefaring ambitions, it
has a disused Italian launchpad off
Malindi that it would like to renovate as a
commercial venture. Ghana’s Space
Science and Technology Centre did launch
its first ‘satellite’ this year, but it was the
size of a coke can, built by students and
was launched by weather balloon as a
demonstration project.
The Daily Mail was being particularly
disingenuous in its tutting about Uganda
this week. The very same paper ran a
story poking fun at Uganda’s ‘space
programme’ two years ago, under the
headline ‘Not exactly NASA!’. The Ugandan
space project is run by volunteer
enthusiasts, and suggesting Uganda
doesn’t deserve our aid because of it is
self-serving nonsense.
Secondly, satellite programmes can help
the poor. Many parts of Africa, especially
deeper rural areas, are badly connected
and in desperate need of infrastructure.
Satellite technology can open up
communications to those regions far
more cheaply than attempting to cable
them all. This improves governance too,
with governments able to keep in contact
with the further reaches of the country.
Satellites can play a role in monitoring
droughts, pollution, desertification and
natural disasters. One of Nigeria’s
satellites relays images of natural disaster
zones to relief agencies, and was used to
study malaria vectors. They can keep an
eye on conflict zones and border
disputes and track the movements of
rebel forces, as the Satellite Sentinel
Project does in Sudan. Now, that
particular satellite project was set up by
George Clooney and friends, so that’s
obviously okay. If an African country had
launched it, would it be a luxury vanity
project that could have been better
spend on the poor? Of course not.
Then there are agricultural and weather
forecasting applications, global
positioning and mapping technologies,
data gathering and climate monitoring.
Africa will benefit from all of these things,
including the poor. Investing in these
technologies is not an either/or decision
between satellites and sanitation, any
more than Britain has to choose between
doing something about youth
unemployment and supporting our own
Space Agency.
British taxpayers’ money isn’t going
towards space programmes in Africa,
though plenty of our aid money does go
astray, I’m sure. And I’m sure that some
developing world space projects are
nationalist ego projects with budgets
that could be better spent elsewhere. But
satellite technology is important and
everyone has a right to it. We should
celebrate African universities
contributing to our knowledge of
astronomy, providing Southern
hemisphere platforms for space
observation, and playing an active role in
the advance of science.
Nigeria is even training the first bona fide
African astronaut. Great. What could be a
better symbol of a rising Africa?
Nigeriasat-X, built in Surrey

http://makewealthhistory.org/2013/08/13/the-truth-about-africas-space-programmes/

Illuminatus: I'm not against all space programmes. We already have a satellite in the space. BUT WE DON'T NEED TO LAUNCH ROCKETS LIKE INDIA'S DOING.

we can build our launch pad in nigeria so that we can launch our own sattelites here in Nigeria. We wouldnt have to go to other countries to do it any more. We can also use it to make money with it since other countries and private companies would come and patronise us.

Illuminatus: I'm not against all space programmes. We already have a satellite in the space. BUT WE DON'T NEED TO LAUNCH ROCKETS LIKE INDIA'S DOING.

Sure. Let's just sit back and WAIT till the rest of the world has advanced past us, then we play catch up/// AGAIN.

Do we never learn??

And before you run me that ''we have other issues to deal with'' line, INDIA probably has MORE such issues to deal with than we do, including poverty, illiteracy etc etc. But they KNOW they cannot afford to wait to resolve all those issues first before thinking of scientific and technological advancement.

We should spend the money on education first.

Publicity Stunt and like Nigeria; misplaced priority. They should combat the Taliban and other terrorist groups first and then reduce the high poverty level in Inda ( especially rural india) before the even think of venturing into the stratosphere.

Imagine, india that has not been able to go to the moon is now attempting to go to mars which the most technological advanced country in the world - the USA had been battling for close to 40 years. And for what purpose?

ROSSIKE:

Sure. Let's just sit back and WAIT till the rest of the world has advanced past us, then we play catch up/// AGAIN.

Do we never learn??

And before you run me that ''we have other issues to deal with'' line, INDIA probably has MORE such issues to deal with than we do, including poverty, illiteracy etc etc. But they KNOW they cannot afford to wait to resolve all those issues first before thinking of scientific and technological advancement.

India has battled the worst of poverty and emerged as leader to third world countries.
When Great britain went on world wide to conquer there r many majority of english citizens who lacked a proper meal .but they still went to conquer . the result is all to see.
never let poverty hold you u down .

EKONGKING:

India has battled the worst of poverty and emerged as leader to third world countries.
When Great britain went on world wide to conquer there r many majority of english citizens who lacked a proper meal .but they still went to conquer . the result is all to see.
never let poverty hold you u down .

1million Likes. One thing people do not understand is; all major powers had poverty, illiteracy etc to deal with when they all ventured into space. Today, they have overcome all of that.

wirinet: Publicity Stunt and like Nigeria; misplaced priority. They should combat the Taliban and other terrorist groups first and then reduce the high poverty level in Inda ( especially rural india) before the even think of venturing into the stratosphere.

Imagine, india that has not been able to go to the moon is now attempting to go to mars which the most technological advanced country in the world - the USA had been battling for close to 40 years. And for what purpose?

do your research. India has been to the moon and they also found water on the moon. This is something the US, EU and russia have not been able to find.

hercules07: We should spend the money on education first.

space is education. One thing we are even failing to understand here is: if these world powers go to mars and find usefull minerals, do you think they would want to buy your minerals anymore? We would be more impoverished, dont you think? Since our major source of income is minerals.

They went round the world, they found minerals and they used all thier might to colonize the place. Isnt it possible for them to find minerals in space too?

souldust:

do your research. India has been to the moon and they also found water on the moon. This is something the US, EU and russia have not been able to find.

India has been to the moon and only you knew about it? Are you sure you are not dreaming? When the US went to the moon, the whole world stood still but when India went only souldust was aware.

ROSSIKE:

Sure. Let's just sit back and WAIT till the rest of the world has advanced past us, then we play catch up/// AGAIN.

Do we never learn??

And before you run me that ''we have other issues to deal with'' line, INDIA probably has MORE such issues to deal with than we do, including poverty, illiteracy etc etc. But they KNOW they cannot afford to wait to resolve all those issues first before thinking of scientific and technological advancement.

Wow. I'm surprised to learn that space programme is more important than providing employment and revitalizing the education sector. That we should jump the cart and pay other nationals to come build rockets for us. You do realize that with the state of education sector not a single graduate produced in Nigeria can design a spacecraft that can successfully be launched into space?

souldust:

do your research. India has been to the moon and they also found water on the moon. This is something the US, EU and russia have not been able to find.

And what did they use the water for? Does it have special healing properties or something that is exceptionally profitable? I just think it's all a stunt to showing power.

souldust:

space is education. One thing we are even failing to understand here is: if these world powers go to mars and find usefull minerals, do you think they would want to buy your minerals anymore? We would be more impoverished, dont you think? Since our major source of income is minerals.

They went round the world, they found minerals and they used all thier might to colonize the place. Isnt it possible for them to find minerals in space too?

We don't have the economic and human resources to embark on such a mission. Would you have us borrow more money to fund your fanatical trip around space in hopes of searching for something worth more than gold or crude oil?