SGAC Lebanon
National Points of Contact
Lebanon
Welcome to Space Generation Advisory Council – Lebanon
Introduction
After the demise of the Lebanese Rocket Society, a group famed for initiating the Middle Eastern Space Race, Lebanon is seeing a revival in activities pertaining to astronomy, astrophysics, aerospace engineering, astropreneurship and other areas of research.
The nation is full of successful Astronomy Clubs, based at universities and some emerging ones. Space education in the nation is pioneered by Mohammad Abbas, PhD who founded the CosmicDome, a portable planetarium in the Middle East.
Lebanon’s presence within the space scene has existed for a long time through Charles Elachi, PhD, the former director of JPL, as well as George Helou, PhD, a scientist who helped with the TRAPPIST-1 discovery. However, Lebanon, aims to transfer from emerging status in space to greater heights. Along with the preparation of an observatory in Urn Al Sawdaa, this page reviews activities within the nation pertaining to space.
2018
1. Hosting of the first inaugural World Space Week in Lebanon, between October 4-10. Activities ranged from lectures on Mercury and space technology transfer as well as interactive sessions pertaining to Exoplanets, Mapping of Galaxies and Astrophotography.
2. Preparing for MoUs with the American University of Beirut’s Astronomy Club and other universities in the nation, as well as the searching for partners to host events within 2019, and coming up with ideas for 2019.
3. On November 29, the inaugural collaboration between the Astronomy Clubs of the American University of Beirut, Lebanese American University, Saint Joseph University and Notre Dame University and CosmicDome took place. The collaboration was “Hidden Dimensions”, the first of many events surrounding various topics regarding space. The first event focused on the topics of Gravity, Dimensions, String Theory, and Time Travel.
4. The acceptance of a student to join the Space Safety & Sustainability Project Group, and working on a paper pertaining to Astronautical Hygiene and Space Medicine. In December 2018, the student submitted an abstract to lead a paper on Astronaut Mental Health and Psychology.
5. The acceptance of two students into the Commercial Space Project Group, to work on projects with Virgin Galactic and Space For Humanity. The first meetings have been successfully held, and project development is under-way.
6. Preparation for the inaugural SG Lebanon event in 2019, to take place in collaboration with Exosphere Ltd. and the Planetary Society, on surviving a Martian Crisis, building a colony on Mars and careers in Aerospace, Aeronautics, and Astronautics for all majors.
