African Space Agency is now operational

Africa achieved a historic breakthrough in its space ambitions on April 20, 2025, with the formal launch of the African Space Agency (AfSA) at its new permanent headquarters in Cairo’s Space City, Egypt. This milestone event concludes nearly ten years of careful planning and collaboration, which began in January 2016 when the African Union Assembly endorsed the African Space Policy and Strategy at its Twenty-Sixth Ordinary Session, creating the foundation for a continent-wide space initiative.

Disaster Overview

The March 28, 2025, M7.7 earthquake near Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), occurred as the result of strike-slip faulting between the India and Eurasia plates. Focal mechanism solutions indicate that slip occurred on either a north-striking, steeply-dipping, right-lateral fault or a west-striking, steeply-dipping, left-lateral fault. The finite fault solution indicates a north-striking right-lateral fault.

Spacecraft orbiting Earth play a vital role in monitoring climate change, enabling global communication and navigation, and advancing scientific research. However, many of these orbits are becoming overcrowded and increasingly filled with hazardous debris from old satellites and rockets, posing a serious threat to the future of space operations.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have co-authored a publication which emphasizes the importance of space technologies in addressing global food security challenges and supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.