NIGERIA TO SEND IT’S FIRST CITIZEN TO SPACE
Nigeria and the Space Exploration and Research Agency, SERA, of Delaware, USA, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, or MoU, to send the first Nigerian to space.
At the signing of the MoU in Abuja yesterday, Chief Uche Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, stated that human spaceflight was Nigeria’s major desire.
“Human spaceflight is not simply our country’s desire; it is a significant goal of the Nigeria Space Policy and Programme, which was adopted by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in 2001.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration emphasises the revival and implementation of all abandoned national objectives.
This alliance allows us to achieve a long-held national goal,” he stated.
The minister stated that the slot might be open from now until December, or in 2025, as SERA continues to test the platform. Dr. Matthew Adepoju, Director-General of NASRDA, stated that SERA has fully financed the expense of sending a Nigerian to space, and that the occasion marked the start of the agency’s
efforts to implement a portion
of its roadmap for human
spaceflight.
He further stated that the occasion was worthy of celebration at a time when Nigeria was commemorating the 25th anniversary of its space programme. “The Human Spaceflight Programme is one of the primary goals of the National Space Policy and Programme. “With this in mind, we founded the Department of Physical and Life Sciences around three years ago to carry out this purpose.
“This is also coming as one of our deep space explorations because there are many spinoffs that will come from the collaboration and opportunities opened for Nigerians,” stated the president.
Mr Joshua Skurla, Co-Founder of SERA, stated that 80 percent of astronauts worldwide had come from three countries.
Skurla stated that Nigeria has a long history of scientific and technological innovation, and that SERA was thrilled to collaborate with NASRDA to
carry that tradition into
space and provide new
opportunities for Nigerian
space explorers.
Mr Sam Hutchison, the founder of SERA, stated that the application to be in space was open to any Nigerian above the age of 18, regardless of discipline.
“The Nigerian people will choose the citizen to go to space, and the application procedure will be open to everyone over the age of 18, with no other credentials required.
“You will be able to sign up and then persuade others to vote for you; as part of the democratic process, the Nigerian people will choose
four possible astronaut
candidates prior to the final
selection process.
