Africa’s space ambitions are moving from policy to practice
Summary
The Africa Space Expo in Ivory Coast focused on using space technology to help with food security, climate, and security rather than rockets or astronauts. Ghana is making progress by turning old satellite tech into a radio telescope and applying satellite data to agriculture and environmental monitoring, but still faces challenges in fully developing its own space technology.Key Facts
- The Africa Space Expo was held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and focused on practical space uses like food security and climate resilience.
- Ivory Coast signed the Artemis Accords, joining 74 other countries in space exploration cooperation.
- Angola signed a space cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates.
- Ghana converted a 32-meter satellite antenna into a radio telescope, launched in 2017, through a partnership with South Africa.
- Ghana approved its National Space Policy in 2022 and created a Ghana Space Agency in 2025.
- Ghana uses satellite data to monitor crop health and forest loss and works with international partners on coastal erosion simulations.
- Crop yield prediction models face accuracy issues due to small-scale farming and limits of satellite data.
- International support from Japan, Belgium, and France helps Ghana with technical training and space law development.
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