Africa to the Moon – “A Time to Show the World What Africa Can Do!”

January 2, 2015 – This website caught my eye and I thought what a great way to start 2015 with a mission to the Moon in the planning by young Africans who want to demonstrate the ingenuity and technical savvy of the population.

Africa today has the second largest population of any continent. It also has the youngest population with 50% age nineteen or younger. In terms of strength, 7 of the 10 fastest growing economies like within Africa. With all this youth and development, a group of young Africans, The Foundation for Space Development,  based in South Africa, have launched the #Africa2Moon Mission with a first phase crowdfunding campaign aimed at a $150,000 USD goal.

The campaign for Phase 1 ends on January 31, 2015 at 12:00 a.m. but so far just under $13,000 has been pledged. If they raise the entire amount requested or exceed it the Foundation intends to use the funds to develop the mission concept and do a feasibility study.A second phase would then ensue beginning in November 2015. It would begin to flesh out the mission design.

To those who choose to contribute, $5 puts your name on the mission roster, while $5,000 promotes you through all media as an Official Sponsor with VIP access to special events and announcements.

Why would Africa want to send a robot to the lunar surface? To inspire young Africans and to develop a native expertise in space engineering. Today much of Africa experiences a brain drain with the smartest leaving the continent to find science and engineering opportunities in North America and Europe. With one in nine Africans attaining a university degree, losing 20,000 of these citizens to overseas opportunity presents an enormous loss of talent. The societal and financial implications are enormous.

Of course, #Africa 2Moon cannot on its own stop the brain drain. But by landing a robotic spacecraft on the Moon’s surface and having it transmit data and pictures to African classrooms across the continent, it is hoped that those seeing these images and studying the science derived from the data will be inspired to become engineers and scientists in the service of their nations.

Can crowdfunding achieve what a national or multi-national funded program is capable of doing? Highly unlikely. But like so many initiatives driven by social media acting in parallel and independent of government, it may inspire nations in Africa to work on space infrastructure development.

But doesn’t Africa have much bigger issues to address? Yes but with or without the West African Ebola outbreak, the violence in Darfur, a failed state in Somalia, South Sudan in turmoil, and Nigerian kidnappings and oil spills, a new generation of young Africans still need to be inspired by the possible.

The Foundation argues that all the vaccines and peacekeepers in Africa today can only heal what’s happening in the present. But Africa’s problems need a population focused on the future. They need a generation inspired by common goals and technologically capable of improving the lives of all Africans. They need self-empowerment. #Africa2Moon could prove the catalyst.