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Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister for Science and Technology, Sen. Boroffice Ajayi, Senate Committee Chairman on Science and Technology,Prof Seidu Mohammed, DG NASRDA and other dignitaries at the space museum.
Lab By Ijeoma Olorunfemi Abuja, April 24, 2019 (NAN) The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, says Assembly and Integration Testing (AIT) lab project is a must for the development of space science technology in the country.
Onu said this on Wednesday at the inauguration of space museum, planetorium and space incubation centre of the National Space and Research Development Agency (NASRDA) in Abuja.
Other projects inaugurated include Space Environment Lab of Centre for Atmospheric Research of the agency, Sports arena and the Institute of Space Science and Engineering.
Planetorium is a place where activities in space can be viewed in real world.
The inauguration of the projects was part of activities to mark the 20 years of establishment of NASRDA on May 5.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the AIT lab of NASRDA had been under construction for the past 12 years.
The minister said that the country had the human capacity to manufacture, design and locally launch its satellite, hence the need to develop its indigenous space industry.
He added that the inaugurated projects would ensure that space science technology in the country was consolidated for the benefit of the younger generation aspiring to build careers in the area.
He said in the next 20 to 30 years, the workforce of the agency will be phased out and we need to prepare our young ones for the space industry.
We have to start preparing them to be interested in space technology development, which is why the completion of the AIT lab is a must for Nigeria.
With the completion of the AIT lab, it will give opportunity to our engineers to design satellites for Nigeria and for other countries and that will benefit us economically.
According to him, completing the AIT lab will facilitate the launch of Nigerian satellite from its soil.
He said that in few years to come, the population of the country would increase tremendously and it is very important that we prepare now for our future.
The Director General of NASRDA, Prof. Seidu Mohammed, said that the country had made progress in the space sector in spite of being a third world country.
Mohammed added that Nigeria took steps to develop scientifically, in defence and security, as well as socio-economic development of the nation.
According to him, completion of the projects will further consolidate on the development of space science and technology.
The space museum and planetorium will provide platform for Nigerian children interested in space science and technology development such as human space flight and life sciences, the NASRDA boss said.
He explained that the countrys engagement in space science technology had encouraged training and technology transfer among engineers and scientists in the country with their global counterparts.
The director general said that NASRDA would build on existing partnerships and ensure that space programmes were utilised for more opportunities to boost development in the sector.
Sen. Boroffice Ajayi, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology, commended the space agency for demonstrating relevance in the local and global space terrain.
Source: Pulse.ng
