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Claim: Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, asserts that Ghana can begin space exploration if Dr Mahamadu Bawumia is elected President.
Verdict: The impression that the country has yet to explore space is false. In 2017, the country’s first satellite was launched into space.
Full Text
Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, says that the country will be able to begin space explorations when Dr Mahamadu Bawumia is elected president in the 2024 polls.
According to him, this will be possible because of the investments the current government is making in the sector.
Speaking on Kumasi-based Wontumi Radio, the leading member of the NPP asserted that the government envisions reducing the number of Ghanaians seeking to study abroad by encouraging the use of artificial intelligence in classrooms.
Chairman Wontumi claimed that the investments would result in the country beginning to explore space.
“The current government is trying to tap into the era of artificial intelligence. This is to reduce the number of Ghanaians studying abroad as we will improve the quality of education through the introduction of modern technologies. With all these investments, when Bawumia is elected as president before he leaves office, Ghanaian students would have been trained, and the country can begin making space explorations,” he said in Akan on Wontumi Morning Show on Friday, April 19, 2024.
The claim can be found between minutes 1:23:23 and 1:24:57 of the show live-streamed on Facebook.
Several online users have been sharing a clip of the claim here, here, and here. An online platform also published it.
Verification
Ghana’s first satellite was launched into orbit from the International Space Station on Friday, July 7, 2017.
The satellite GhanaSat-1 was developed by Ghanaian students at the All Nations University (ANU), Koforidua, to observe the country’s coastline.
This event was widely reported by local and international press, and evidence can be seen here, here, and here.
“Ghana’s desire to become a space-faring nation became a reality last Friday when it successfully deployed its first satellite into orbit. Christened ‘Ghanasat-1’, the satellite, which weighs 1,000 grammes, was released from the International Space Station (ISS) at exactly 8:50 a.m. last Friday by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) at an altitude of 400 kilometres above the earth’s atmosphere aboard the Japan Kibo Deployment System,” State broadcaster, Graphic.com.gh published.
Following this, engineers and scientists in the university announced plans to launch another satellite to monitor illegal mining activities.
Space Science and Technology in Ghana
Over the years, Ghana has taken various steps to explore space science and technology. In 2012, the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI) was established and tasked with “harnessing, coordinating, researching, commercialising and exploring space science and technology for the socio-economic development of Ghana.”
In subsequent years, the Cabinet approved a policy to enable the country to explore the benefits of space science for national development efforts.
Earlier this year, the All Nations University College in Koforidua announced it was spearheading the continent’s first Constellation Satellite Project.
Conclusion
The impression that the current government’s investments in science, technology, and mathematics education will lead to Ghanaians’ beginning space exploration in the future is false. The country has made steady progress in space exploration, which can only be enhanced in the future.
