First African in Space
Mark Shuttleworth, South African entrepreneur, will fly as a crewmember on a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in April 2002. Shuttleworth will be the first African citizen in space. Currently in rigorous cosmonaut training at Star City, outside Moscow, Shuttleworth will conduct experiments in collaboration with South African researcers as well as participate in a national media campaign that draws attention to the global digital divide and the importance of maths and science education. Commenting from Moscow, Shuttleworth re-iterated the goals of the project: "We need to inspire African learners of all ages to focus on science, innovation and technology. We need to raise the international profile of the world class science and technology work that is already being done in Africa, and we need to create opportunities for African scientists to explore new frontiers. I hope this project delivers on all those counts." "We will provide a major boost to the South African National Education Strategy for Science and Mathematics, something of significant long-term importance to South Africa. Our space programme management team in Cape Town has already helped launch that strategy and will continue to support the Department of Education directly. The project is also pushing South African science onto the world stage. Several South African teams of scientists have invested time and effort in this unique research programme. I hope that this initiative will also provide a substantial boost to the country's effort to attract students to high technology, and specifically to focus attention on South Africa's budding space technology research programme at Houwteq, which is being run by the Department of Communications. And, on the global front, I hope that this is an initiative that will generate substantial positive international coverage for South Africa." "South Africa has a great role to play in the future of Africa, and space provides a unique platform from which to address some of Africa's challenges. I hope that this project will inspire people across Africa to reach for their own dreams. Some would say that high technology and space have no place in a continent that faces the challenges that we do. I believe that Africa is a surprising place, and we should not shy away from bold strides into the forefront of world technology and policy." The mission to space involves two components: science experimentation and a national media campaign that promotes science and maths education. To read more about this, go to http://www.africaninspace.com.
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