Unlike traditional astronaut programs that draw candidates from military pilots or scientists, SERA’s model opens the process to the public. Through a blockchain-powered platform called Mission Control, any Nigerian over 18 can register to participate as a candidate, science experiment proposer, or supporter. Candidates earn “SpaceDust” points through tasks and campaigns, with finalists eventually voted on by the community.

The winner will secure a seat on Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital flight, experiencing 11 minutes in space, including four minutes of microgravity.

“This partnership aligns with our vision of expanding Nigeria’s space presence beyond satellites to human spaceflight,” said NASRDA Director General, Matthew Olumide Adepoju.

The initiative was facilitated by the Learnspace Foundation, led by Anne Agi, who described it as a move that would ensure inclusivity in Nigeria’s space journey.

Nigeria has launched multiple satellites in the past two decades, but no Nigerian has traveled to space. By opening the selection process, the country hopes to inspire public interest and highlight the potential of the “overview effect”—the transformative perspective astronauts gain when viewing Earth from orbit.

Experts note that Nigeria risks being left behind if it does not actively engage in the “offworld economy,” which is already attracting investments in private space stations, biotechnology, and orbital research. With this partnership, Nigeria is positioning itself to claim a foothold in that future.

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The Director General of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Dr. Matthew Adepoju, has unveiled ambitious plans to train 200,000 Nigerian youths annually in practical, market-ready skills that will enable them to tap into the fast-growing global space economy.

Dr. Adepoju disclosed this initiative while speaking with journalists during the 2025 NASRDA top management retreat held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. According to him, the skills acquisition programme is designed to tackle youth unemployment and create wealth by equipping young people with essential technical and entrepreneurial skills.

“We are introducing some skills acquisition for youth employment because we have observed that wherever you have problems, that is potential money, potential jobs, and opportunities,” Adepoju said. “But when you don’t have the skills to tackle the problems and turn the situation into wealth creation, that’s where the challenge is. That’s why we brought up the skills acquisition hub, which is taking off soon.”

NASRDA’s plan includes establishing skills acquisition hubs in each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with the first regional centre nearing completion and expected to be commissioned this year. Dr. Adepoju noted that these hubs will train up to 200,000 youths annually in each region, preparing them to contribute meaningfully to national development.

In addition to the skills acquisition programme, Dr. Adepoju revealed that NASRDA is preparing to launch two new satellites within the next year in partnership with the U.S.-based Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA). These new satellites will replace Nigeria’s aging satellite launched in 2011.

“In the next six months to one year, NASRDA will launch at least two out of the four satellites into orbit. Then, the programme of the first Nigerian, first African to be in space would have been a reality too, because we have already secured the seat in Blue Origin,” he said. The process of selecting the Nigerian who will participate in this historic space travel is already underway.

Furthermore, Dr. Adepoju announced that President Bola Tinubu has approved a take-off grant for the establishment of space regulations and spectrum management in Nigeria, a move he said is crucial to improving service delivery in telecommunications and broadcasting.

“Many of the services rendered to us in Nigeria are substandard,” Adepoju observed. “For example, during the President’s acceptance speech, it was cloudy and about to rain, and everything went off the screen. It is because nobody is regulating the space sector, which is the function of NASRDA.”

He emphasized the vast economic potential of the space sector and urged private investors to take advantage of the opportunities it offers. “The global space economy is now the largest in the world and offers significant avenues for job creation, economic growth, and improved national security,” he concluded.

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The Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd, NigComSat, a Federal Government-owned agency overseeing Nigeria’s communication satellites, has kicked off a regional training program aimed at equipping young Nigerians with satellite technology skills.

The initiative, titled “Building Grassroots Innovation in Satellite Technology,” begins with a five-day Space-Tech Hackathon in Yola, Adamawa State, from February 24 to 28. It targets university students, local innovators, and young professionals from Borno, Taraba, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, and Adamawa States.

According to Aisha Bantam, Head of Corporate Affairs at NigComSat, the training will introduce participants to Very Small Aperture Terminal (V-SAT) technology and explore applications for NigComSat satellites, National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) satellites, and other emerging space technologies.

Speaking on the significance of the initiative, Jane Egerton-Idehen, Managing Director of NigComSat, emphasized that the hackathon aims to inspire young Nigerians to develop innovative solutions to local challenges using space technology.

She revealed that winning teams would advance to the NigComSat Accelerator Programme in 2025, where they will receive mentorship and resources to refine and commercialize their solutions.

“This initiative is designed to drive sectoral growth, raise awareness about satellite technology, and create economic and social impact,” Egerton-Idehen stated.

The Yola hackathon marks the first of four regional competitions planned across Nigeria, with Adamawa State hosting the North-East edition. Through these hackathons, NigComSat aims to reduce youth unemployment, promote digital skills, and encourage technology-driven problem-solving.

As Nigeria seeks to expand its space technology sector, NigComSat remains a key player in enhancing economic growth, supporting national security, education, and advancing e-governance initiatives.

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The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced its decision to send its first citizen into space. This historic initiative comes following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the U.S. firm Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA) as part of Nigeria’s Human Space Flight programme.

The announcement was made by Mathew Adepoju, Director General of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.

“This collaboration marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s 25th anniversary of space exploration and opens new opportunities for scientific research and technological advancement,” Adepoju stated.

This endeavor highlights Nigeria’s dedication to advancing its capabilities in space science and technology, positioning the nation as an emerging player in the global space community.

The initiative is expected to foster research and development, providing numerous benefits and opportunities for the country.

“The Human Space Flight programme is one of the cardinal objectives of our National Space Policy,” Adepoju explained.

“To support this, we established the Department of Physical and Life Sciences three years ago.”

He emphasized the program’s potential to yield significant spinoffs and opportunities for Nigerians.

Chief Uche Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, reinforced the importance of human space flight within Nigeria’s National Space Policy and Programme (NSPP).

The NSPP, approved in 2001, included a 25-year roadmap initiated in 2005 aiming for the first human space flight by 2018.

“We are about six years behind schedule, but the signing of the MoU signifies our commitment to achieving this goal,” Nnaji said.

Sam Hutchison, Co-founder of the Space Exploration and Research Alliance (SERA), highlighted the democratic nature of the selection process for Nigeria’s first astronaut.

“Anyone aged 18 and above can apply. The process will allow Nigerians to choose four potential astronaut candidates before a final selection,” Hutchison said, noting that the program is designed to open opportunities to all Nigerians, not just scientists or engineers.

This ambitious program underscores Nigeria’s serious intent regarding future space exploration, promising to pave the way for further achievements in space science and technology.

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TECHDIGEST – Nigeria is set to enhance and modernize its digital payments infrastructure, particularly in the healthcare and agriculture sectors, after a federal government agency concluded a deal with a biometric technology company.

The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with eGate Technology to deploy technologies including artificial intelligence for payments, electronic medical records, hospital management and tele-medicines, among others.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, NASRDA’s Director General Halilu Ahmad said the partnership will improve and streamline access to services and enhance efficiency.

Per the deal, eGate’s solution will provide biometric smart payment cards which will be integrated with existing payment facilities to facilitate payments for citizens.

The partners say this will, among other things, help eliminate delays and reduce fraud. It will also ease the process of application for loans or purchases of farm inputs such as fertilizers, while also making it possible for people to undertake medical consultations remotely.

READ ALSO: NITDA Boss Harps on importance of Digital Innovation in Africa 

Mr Essam Elsaghir, eGate Technology chairman said that ” Technology is leading the way in digital transformation in the region. We believe that digital transformation will improve population access to services management, to increase efficiency, reduce costs and frond transactions, improve data security and privacy, and provide decision makers with statists report for accurate decision at the right time”.

Their commitment, the official said, is to provide “a fully integrated digital identity smart card system” that will “create biometric digital identity to identify citizens and their electronic profiles with financial facility to receive money or do any type of payment “which will increase efficiency, ease access to services, and reduce problems like misidentification and fraud.”

Users will be able to access the different services using a mobile app, the technology provider says.

In the meantime, the NASRDA deal with eGate involves GS Group, a Smart Road and RFID provider, The Cable notes.

“Today we are honoured to be selected to implement our state-of-the-art RFID technology and intelligent traffic management system with country footprint infrastructure that poses many critical challenges in most modern cities, including congestion, traffic violations, car theft, and illegal vehicles,” says Gaseer Elsayed, founder of GS Group.

The Nation

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By Aminat Akinyemi

TECHDIGEST – As the year 2022 came to a close, the world was thrown into frenzy after a US based AI firm, OpenAI released a groundbreaking solution called “chatGPT” which could converse, reply text messages sent by humans and answer almost any question as accurately as if it were human itself and all-knowing. This solution even proves to have the capacity to write news articles, public speeches, academic papers, computer codes and can go as far as discussing matters relating to your local traditional recipes.

Today, unlike a decade ago, countries are now competing fiercely towards attaining AI supremacy.

This is not surprising as recent events have proven that AI, Robotics, Blockchain and Cybersecurity have a huge impact on national security, intelligence, healthcare and food security. With fast advances in technology, there is no doubt that the next decade presents an opportunity for countries to redefine their future, improve on the quality of life, healthcare and availability of jobs through the needed up-skilling of their workforce and re-modeling of their industries.

Deviating from an age-long Nigerian tradition of simply waiting to import and consume any latest technology in the world rather than contribute to its development, the nation is lucky to have some leaders that are keeping tabs on global developments and are guarding the coast keenly.

For example, in 2019, a young Nigerian, Olusola Ayoola after bagging his Ph.D in the area of Nuclear Robotics and working extensively with UK’s government decided to return home to establish Nigeria’s first fully functional Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Facility for training, research and product development.

Since its establishment, RAIN has proven to be world class and has even attracted international students and recognitions from the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Ms Amina J. Mohammed, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), USA and Canada missions in Nigeria, as well as First Bank of Nigeria Plc., Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the National institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE), the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).

READ ALSO: Lawmaker Secures Government Funding for Ibadan AI-Robotics

Some of the groundbreaking research carried out at RAIN include unattended baggage detection, mini weather station, AI based Traffic Light System, a ground robot vehicle and unmanned VTOL aerial vehicle (IMORP), CETHED and RAINSC75/76.

The great feat which RAIN has achieved without any support from Government and this fact only makes one want to ask what an intervention grant will do to the growth of technology in Nigeria.

This must have been the thought of Honorable Oluyemi Adewale Taiwo, a federal lawmaker representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency, Oyo State when in January 2022 and on the floor of the green hallow chamber, Honorable Oluyemi Taiwo moved a motion for the house to encourage the federal government to liaise and work with RAIN especially during the course of tackling the insecurity. The house unanimously adopted the motion and passed a resolution in support.

Honorable Oluyemi Adewale Taiwo did not stop at that. The pragmatic lawmaker followed this up with the ministry of science, technology and innovation until he successfully got the nod of the ministry to provide such intervention grant.

This is a confirmation of his stewardship to his constituency. However, the nation could do with more of his kind that will direct the federal government’s attention to burgeoning areas within the economy that can help return this nation to the path of greatness. No doubt, with this intervention grant, being well managed by the tested and proven management of the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Nigeria board, the nation can only expect to move upwards from this point onward.

The Chief Executive of RAIN, Dr Ayoola has confirmed that there are lofty plans in place including the construction of a Centre for Excellence in Drone and Unmanned Vehicles for Geospatial Intelligence, provision of training scholarships to the youths of Nigeria, particularly those from Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency, and the improvement of AI Robotics product prototypes up to the required military standards.

While the efforts of Honorable Oluyemi Adewale Taiwo are not common in this part of the world, it is not unexpected as he was basically doing what a genuine representative of the people will do in order to preserve the indigenous technological firms in his constituency, promote their global advantage and protect the future of the youths in such communities through up-skilling.

Let it be known that when Nigeria becomes a great country, it is the sacrifices of genuinely honourable men like Hon. Oluyemi Taiwo of House of Rep and his supportive colleagues in the National assembly, the Honourable Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Senator Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora as well as the permanent secretary of the ministry which will be mentioned for praises. Now, let Nigeria’s global competitiveness in AI and Robotics begin.

Aminat Akinyemi writes from Ibadan and can be reach via Aaebunoluwa@gmail.com

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