"During the early space race in the 1960s, African countries played an important role in the Apollo moon missions, Oniosun told DW. They hosted critical infrastructure, without which, "the missions wouldn't have been possible." "But nobody talked about that," Oniosun said. "When America sent [NASA astronaut] Neil Armstrong to the moon, it wasn't like, 'This is good for America, and we thank Africa and other regions for their contribution.' But Africa played a role in that. And the reason we tell this story is to provide the context that space isn't a brand new thing in Africa.""
"What has changed, however, is that African countries don't just host infrastructure these days they build and own the infrastructure, design and launch satellites, with space technology specific to the continent's needs."
""These guys are not thinking, 'We want to go to the moon or Mars.' They're thinking, 'I can use this satellite to provide connectivity to my village. I've got flooding issues, drought issues, my farm is not yielding, and I can use this satellite data to improve that.'""
African nations hosted critical infrastructure during the 1960s that enabled Apollo moon missions. Contemporary African countries build, own, design and launch satellites and related infrastructure. Space technology is used primarily as a tool to address practical problems such as connectivity, flooding, drought and agricultural productivity. Much satellite data is freely available, but many international satellite programs do not meet equatorial and locally specific needs. African space efforts focus on niche, locally relevant applications rather than distant exploration goals, prioritizing technology that directly improves livelihoods and addresses regional environmental and development challenges.
Read at www.dw.com
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