Ghana will soon launch a 32-meter telescope that will form part of the network of African radio astronomy telescopesto be used for high-tech scientific research.
The telescope will be used for hi-tech scientific research and future planet discoveries as well as give career opportunities to students in pure science and engineering.
This was announced by the country’s Minister for the Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, at the opening of the African Leadership Conference (ALC) on Space Science Technology in Accra.
The ALC is a cross-regional space organisation that seeks to harness space and science and technology for the betterment of the human condition in Africa, through active regular engagements and interactions among African political leaders and their professionals and scientists, with the goal of building a vibrant African partnership in space science and technology.It brings together African countries such as Ghana, Algeria, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, Botswana, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, and Sudan.
According to the Minister, space science and technology is an essential tool for socio-economic development, job creation and improving the living conditions of people.
He explained that developing space science and technology in Africa meant raising the standard of living of African people through direct employment of advanced technologies. It could also help in the management of disasters and cushion the devastating effects of such disasters as well as other man-made problems through early warning scientific data.
“For African countries such as Ghana, the race to space is not a competitive battle by our nations for scientific superiority. But it is an essential tool for socio-economic development and improving the quality of life of our people,” the minister said.
He also maintained that launching the telescope as well as other national telescopes across the continent would give the world a clear signal that Ghana was committed to the implementation of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project as a partner country. The SKA telescope is a $2.7 billion project currently being built in South Africa and is planned to be co-hosted with Australia.
President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences Prof. Francis Kofi Ampenyin Allotey also supported Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei’s assertion on the importance of human resource development in the field of space science and technology in Africa.
According to him, space technology is essential in agriculture and access to water, adding that even though space research was capital-intensive, the returns were of huge benefits to the economy.
“There is the need to find solutions to some of these problems by African scientists and engineers using space science and technology as these problems hinder economic growth of most countries on the continent,” urged the renowned scientist who is also the interim President of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Ghana.
Meanwhile, to encourage development of Space science and technology, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei said the government has pledged to pursue the development of human capacities by introducing new undergraduate and post graduate programmes in some key universities in Ghana.
