Space Issues

Space activities are generally thought to be a rich country’s game. According to an article from Space Mart, however, the third African Leadership Conference on Space Science and Technology for Sustainable Development which ran recently in Algiers represents the hope of bringing the benefits of space to African countries.

Two partnerships came out of this conference: a regional support office for the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response between the Algerian Space Agency and the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, and an agreement by Algeria, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa to develop the African Resources Management Satellite Constellation to help with land and water usage, public health, and environmental monitoring.

The conference, organized every two years, is meant to further the use of space technology to assist in the economic growth of African countries. It also puts emphasis on projects that allow African states to cooperate.

The African continent is home to some of the world’s poorest countries, and some may question the wisdom of leaders and governments investing in space technology while their societies are beset by various social problems. Space technology, however, allows for remote observation and more efficient land and water use and the study of desertification, ultimately leading to more and better crop growth. It allows for disaster forecasting and management, and the communication necessary to mitigate damage in the event of a disaster. African countries are also working on utilizing satellite technology in a cooperative manner and building on space policy and space law. Finally, it allows for an expansion of science and technology education and industry growth.

For African countries, economic development cannot stop with simply reaching an arbitrary standard of living, where rich countries happen to be at the present time. They must also look toward planning for the kind of future development that is occurring in all countries. Space technology and activities provide some of the means to do so.

For further information, African space organizations are:

• African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in English (ARCSSTE-E) in Nigeria
• African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology in French (CRASTE-LF) in Morocco
• Algeria – Agence Spatiale Algérienne
• Morocco – Centre Royal de Télédétection Spatiale
• Nigeria – National Space Research and Development Agency
• South Africa – Space Portal
• Tunisia – National Remote Sensing Center of Tunisia