SGAC Afghanistan
National Points of Contact
Afghanistan
Welcome to the national page of Afghanistan. Here you will find a selection of the space-related events and projects currently undertaken in Afghanistan. SGAC in Afghanistan tries to pave the way for the future by promoting space and astronomy among young people as well as pooling Afghan talents, and building international collaborations. The goal of our efforts is to inititate space-related activities in Afghanistan, promote students and public to be part of such activites, and finally let people know how enormously the space sector has helped to ease the lives of humans. Furthermore, we hope to one day see another Afghan astronaut in space, following the footsteps of Abdul Ahad Momand, the first Afghan astronaut in space who spent nine days aboard the MIR Space Station in 1988.
Young Space Activities Overview in Afghanistan
In the past three decades of war, very little was done for promoting space in Afghanistan, a sad fact for all sectors of our society. This situation has started to change when SGAC organised one of the first space-related activities in Afghanistan for youth in 2007 in Kabul. This events attracted a crowd of more than 200 young people and teachers. During this event a short space movie was shown, and a talk about the history of space exploration was given by the SGAC’s NPoC. This was followed by the first-ever water rocket competition – a great success altogether. Subsequently, SGAC members have started to celebrate World Space Week and participate in regional and international space activities, despite the local challenges. We hope you join us!
Country-Specific Events in 2013
World Space Week (4-10 October): We are going to celebrate the 2013 World Space Week (WSW) in cooperation with the WSW National Coordinator for Afghanistan (Ahmad S. Hakimyar). This year, we are expecting a larger audience. Invitations will be sent to academics and governmental officials working in space-related field. More details e.g. venue, specific date/time, will follow as the event approaches.
Interesting Web Links for the Young Generation in Afghanistan
International Astonautical Federation (IAF)
First Afghan Cosmonaut (Astronaut) in Space
Awarded with an IAF Youth Grant, SGAC NPoC represented Afghanistan for the first time in IAC (International Astronautical Congress) held in Czech Republic, 2010: http://www.iafastro.com/index.html?title=Ahmad_Shah_Hakimyar
