From 27 to 28 August, Tunisia hosted in its capital the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8), which covered various fields of cooperation between Japan and Africa.
Parallel scientific events, which will be held concurrently with the conference, began on August 19 and will continue until September 2. One of the event’s themes is “Africa to develop comprehensive cooperation in space, especially the construction and development of CubeSats, and explore its broader vision.”
The event, held at Science City on August 25-26, was organized by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in conjunction with a number of academic and industrial institutions. Representatives from African countries and regions and international organizations participated in the event, and participants also discussed several topics. Among the most prominent: Are CubeSats the first step on the road to space for nations?
CubeSats: Free to Open
The parallel scientific activities focusing on the cooperation between Africa and Japan in the space field also involve the participation of Arab countries, but only Tunisia and Egypt are involved in the African Arab countries.
Among the events held at the Tunisian Science City was one called “KiboCube Academy” (meaning Hope CubeSat Academy). The event is jointly organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Japan Space Agency. This is a free and open science course in which Japanese experts introduce CubeSat technology and benefit more than 300 people.
On August 26, a scientific discussion on the role of space technology in sustainable development was organized by the Space Services Innovation Laboratory in cooperation with the Tunisian Aerospace Association and the Private Higher School of Engineering and Applied Technology (ESPITA) in Sousse. Meeting. The space service innovation laboratory organization includes various university institutions and Japanese companies in the field.
The conference introduced the importance of space technology and digital geography in promoting sustainable development.
In this context, Dr. Rehab Al-Masadi, head of the Department of Mechatronics at the Private Higher School of Engineering and Applied Technology (ESPITA), talked about the importance of such meetings to strengthen scientific cooperation and exchange of experience between countries. and the importance of discussion.
The Arab Experience in Balance
Dr. Rihab Masyidi spoke about the project “Tunisat-1”, a Tunisat CubeSat. In February 2021, the project won the 6th “KiboCube” international space competition organized by the United Nations and the Japan Space Agency. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Masidi said the project had made great progress and had joined the final phase. She also stressed that she hopes the satellite will meet the specifications needed to launch in a good environment in 2023, as planned.
Dr. Rihab Masyidi said that “Tunissat-1” is a cubesat with a size of 100 cubic centimeters and a weight of 1 kilogram.
Mohamed Farikha, director general of Telnet, which specialises in the software and electronic systems industry, told Al Jazeera that in March 2021, Tunisia launched a satellite for the Internet of Things (Ros) in partnership with the Russian Space Agency (Ros) “challenging”. number one”. The satellite was officially registered with the United Nations Organization Satellite and Space Registry, marking Tunisia’s official entry into the field of space technology. She also explained that, after taking the first step, Tunisia will follow up with the “Challenge II” satellite dedicated to exploring the earth and the “Challenger III” satellite dedicated to the fifth-generation Internet in the field of space technology. Go a step further.
We tried to rely on Egypt’s pioneering experience in space and cooperation with Japan. In particular, Egypt and Japan reached an agreement to launch CubeSats for Egyptian universities. The satellite was designed by several students under the direction of the Egyptian Space Agency. Unfortunately, the representative of the Egyptian Space Agency, Dr. Mohamed Yahya, did not give any interviews to Al Jazeera, and he also apologised for this.
CubeSats have a variety of uses
On August 26, the Science City also hosted the Africa-Japan CubeSat Technology Cooperation Conference. The meeting was opened by Yasuo Ishii, Deputy Administrator of the Japan Space Agency. In a statement to Al Jazeera, he said: “The KiboCube project and the opportunities it offers many educational and research institutions in developing countries can benefit from Japan’s expertise to enable deployment on the International Space Station. Small cube satellites.
Yasuo Ishii explained: “‘Kibo’ means hope, hope that everyone can have the opportunity to enter space”. He expressed admiration for the enthusiasm of Tunisian engineers and researchers in the field of space technology. He also emphasized that Japan will continue to fully support and provide the framework for the team dedicated to launching the “Tunsat-1” CubeSat.
Regarding the meeting he personally chaired, Yasuo Ishii, Deputy Administrator of the Japan Space Agency, emphasized that he reviewed the progress of CubeSat development, launch and use plans in some African countries. He believes that these are very promising plans that can be further developed.
Tunisia eager to build its own space agency
On the other hand, at a seminar centered on “African Space Activities: Challenges and Prospects”, the Tunisian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Moncef Boukather, expressed Tunisia’s desire to create its own The desire and ambition of the space agency. He also noted that Tunisian engineers on the project are conducting research in this area.
Against this background, Ashraf El Samawi, the official spokesman of the Tunisian Space Association, said in an interview with Al Jazeera, “The 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) brings Tunisia An opportunity to increase technical exchanges with African countries that have completed or are completing projects related to space agencies. He also stressed that currently Tunisia needs to further strengthen processes in this area to attract as many scientists and space engineers as possible Its goal is to establish itself in this important field, to play more roles and to provide more diverse services for development, science and human beings.
Tunisia’s Minister of Communications and Technology Nizar Ben Nagy delivered a speech at the seminar. In his speech, he emphasized that the African continent is currently facing many challenges, represented by climate change, water scarcity, energy shortage and food crisis, affecting all citizens, companies and Africa as a whole. In this context, space technology contributes to the establishment of accurate and modern databases, as well as to making appropriate decisions on development issues, especially with regard to natural resources, environmental protection and management, and food security.