Nigeria Intensifies Plan To Put Astronauts In Space By 2015

DESPITE teething challenges, efforts toward actualizing the country’s 25-year road map for space technology development have intensified with the plan to recruit possible candidates for the first Nigerian astronauts to be sent to space by the end of 2013 and the development of Assembly Integrated Testing and Design Centre (AITDC), which will enable Nigerians build satellites at home.

The roadmap was kicked-off last year with the hand over of NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X Earth observation satellites to National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) in Abuja by the Minister of Science and Technology, Professor Bassey Ewa Ita.
The 25-year roadmap for space technology development approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) include: satellite technology development and launch (Earth observation, communication, and radar) between 2003 to 2015, launch a satellite manufactured in Nigeria by the year 2018, and launch from Nigeria launch vehicle made in Nigeria by the year 2028.

Also, NASRDA, announced that it is willing to work with the Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC) to attach Global Positioning System (GPS) to ballot boxes to prevent the illegal movement of ballot boxes during voting.

Director General of NASRDA, Professor Seidu Onailo Mohammed, during a recent visit of the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, to the Agency said a collaboration between the two bodies will help fast track election court cases, as the GPS will help track the location of ballot boxes especially in cases where boxes are moved, stressing that the boxes can also be used in controversial polling stations as evidence during litigation.
Mohammed, who was last week appointment as a Professor of Remote Sensing and Geo-Spatial Science by the Kaduna State University, told The Guardian: “By our roadmap we are supposed to have our astronauts prepared by 2015. The issue is that there are some few question marks because we are not part of the International Space Station.

“The countries that are part of them, United States and Russia have recently changed their policies. In America, private vehicles now service the International Space Station, which means it is a little bit difficult for us. We are still discussing with us but at the same time looking at other alternatives so that we can actualize this dream of our space programme. We are already talking to China and Russia, and of course, U.S.”

Practically when can Nigerian astronauts be in space? Mohammed said: “The fact is that it is dependent on a number of issues, which we have no control over. So we assume as soon as these countries give us the go ahead we will be ready. But all the same before the end of the year, the recruitment of astronauts will begin so that we have them handy and as soon as we get the nod we can pick from that number.”

On what have been the challenges especially in implementing the country’s 25-year Road Map to Space development, Mohammed said: “Of course there are challenges, not just money. You space programme is a comprehensive programme. It is a step-by-step programme that we need to put in place. Some of the facilities are not yet here. In terms of capacity building, there are some vital areas we are yet to cover and we are in the process of doing that. Thirdly because of lack of culture of science and technology in Nigeria sometimes it is hard for us to get support. We are not surprised at this because even in the United States people still criticize the space programme. The programme that brought satellite communication and has revolutionised GSM and the way people talk all over the world, people still criticize it.

“All the same we believe that such criticism is to the extent of the people’s knowledge and we must promote this technology to make sure people are aware and people must understand that is the n thing for the world and we have no choice as far as this technology is concerned and we must work together with our people to enable us to actualize the space programme.

“Firstly, when we talk about budget for agriculture, it is not just the budget for the ministry of agriculture that is meant for agriculture alone. The fact that we use these images to monitor crop yields and do soil characterization it should also be part of budget for agriculture. People must understand that we use this thing to also monitor pollution across the country. We use that to look at coastal problems, we use that for disaster monitoring and the rest of them. Each time there is disaster in this country because we are members of the space disaster we invoke the charter and maps are made available by the second or third day through which people are rehabilitated.

“People must look at all these areas so that they know that we have no choice as far as space programme is concerned. That is the only way we can get things done be it in food production, for national security, surface and sub-surface water monitoring, for pollution, for environmental monitoring even in our seashores where illegal fishing is still taking place everyday and the theft of oil. All these things can now be monitored by satellites and some of them are covered by cloud but with synthetic aperture reader in satellites will be able to help Nigeria in terms of surveillance in those places.”

The decision to appoint Mohammed as professor of Remote Sensing and Geo-Spatial Science was taken at the 45th Governing Council meeting of the university held on Wednesday July 3rd, 2013, in recognition of his exceptional and scholarly merit and distinguished service to Nigeria.
Mohammed is the Second Director-General of NASRDA, which is regarded as the leading space agency in Africa and one of the fastest growing across the globe.

As a distinguished scientist, Mohammed has over fifty local and international research publications to his credit.
The NASRDA boss is an expert in Space Technology Application, an alumnus of Twente University, Enschede, The Netherlands; he also holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) degree in Environmental Remote Sensing from Bayero University, Kano and was a recipient of Dutch fellowship in 1987.
Mohammed is currently a Fellow of Nigeria Radio and Planetary Sciences and a member of International Research and Development Institute as well as a council member of the International Institute of Astronautics.
Mohammed who was recently re-appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term as the DG of NASRDA said his new focus is the development of AITDC.    

He explained: “We have a 25-year Road Map for the development of space science and technology. Mr. President has specifically charged me and I am going to focus one, on the development of AITDC, which is the heart of space programme. That will enable Nigerians build satellites from here. You see as we have always said, space programme is not only about building satellite but the best way of fast-tracking development in high technology areas.

“So in that light if you have that kind of assembly testing and integrated centre, all the high tech machines can be calibrated and tested here. So it will go a long way. Our biggest problem is the fact that we are yet to emphasize on high technology and that will give us a prime opportunity. Secondly, we need to apply this technology for the development of all in the sense that we are talking of now how space technology can help the common people.

  “We are coming up with a project, An Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development, so that we look at the application in thematic areas. Look at how we can solves problems for instance the issue of desertification, which has been the main based of poverty in most part of Africa. Because most families are not able to produce food, there is deterioration in the environment, which also leads to poverty.

  “We need to deliberately monitor these things that the money government is dedicating to a forestation programme is actually monitored in terms of the trees that are being planted and informing government appropriately the extent of trend and movement of sand dues. Also, to assess and look at areas where sand has stabilised and sees how the planting can take place. This is not only common to us but the belt of the whole of Africa.”

Another issue is that of security. Images from the three Nigerian satellites - NigeriaSat-1, NigeriaSat-X, and NigeriaSat-2- released recently by NASRDA on the extent of damage caused by military intervention at Baga, Borno State, showed remarkable difference with that published on April 30, 2013 by the Human Rights Watch (HRW).
How is NASRDA applying space technology in terms gathering security intelligence and solving the many security challenges being faced by the country?

Mohammed said: “This one out of several thousands of things we do. All over the world satellite images provide a unique opportunity of getting information ordinarily ‘eyes’ cannot get.

“We had to come out at that time because we believe that HRW did not come out with the right information. Secondly, those data processing were just desk top operation and was not detailed. Thirdly, that people who were doing it have no knowledge of the area. Four, they had no grounds person. That is an area we are very conversant of because we have done resource inventory of the whole country.    

 “We brought out the images and showed in black and white for people to see all over the world the true picture. Issues of security are those we provide support for the stakeholders such as the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Police Force but I may not be able to give you the details of what we cover for obvious reasons.”

 Meanwhile, Mohammed said that NASRDA engineers and scientists were willing to work with INEC to develop a package that would ensure rapid relay of election results after voting had close.

This according to him would ensure that only authentic results were communicated after elections.
He, therefore, recommended that a technical committee be set up comprising of NASRDA engineers and scientists and INEC officers to work out modalities for the implementation of collaboration between the two organisations.
Jega commended NASRDA on its activities, saying it was doing an excellent job that needed to be commended and taken advantage of.
He said that NASRDA was doing a lot more than what the public was aware of and there was need to harness the resources of the agency for the benefit of INEC as well as the country as a whole.

Jega said that the called for collaboration was a welcome idea, and he therefore accepted the recommendation for a technical committee and said that he would make it a priority and would follow up on it to see to its logical conclusion.
Jega pointed out that the current constituency structure was developed in 1996 based on the 1991 population census, and had been used for various elections to date.
With the foregoing, the need therefore arises for a review of the delimitation of the existing electoral constituencies in order to ensure more equity in political representation, move towards ensuring equality in voting strength as well as the principle of one man one vote.

He, therefore, called on the agency to assist in providing among other things, high resolution imagery covering the entire nation as at 2012 in both hard and soft copies, imagery showing new settlements by states in hard and soft copies, as well as locality list of Nigeria in hard and soft copies.
Other things requested for include street maps, digital terrain model of Nigeria and other useful delimitation exercise in both hard and soft copies.
The INEC chairman, therefore, said that there was indeed a large scope that the agency needed to collaborate with INEC that would be beneficial to the socio-economic life of Nigeria for a better election process.

The INEC leadership team was taken on a facility tour of the agency and its facilities.

July 25, 2013