In spite of 25 years of continuous human habitation in Earth orbit and the establishment of over a dozen national space agencies across the continent, including the African Space Agency in 2023, Africa has never had an official astronaut programme. In collaboration with existing crewed spaceflight programmes and Proudly Human’s Off-World Project [link to proudlyhuman.tech], the African Astronaut Programme develops a comprehensive astronaut selection and training framework designed for Pan-African participation.

In line with global standards and in partnership with organisations specialising in human space flight and analogue astronaut missions, the programme will establish selection criteria, training protocols and partnerships with international space agencies to create pathways for African astronauts to participate in missions to stations in Earth orbit, lunar bases and eventually Mars and beyond. Beyond the symbolic importance of African representation in space, the programme creates opportunities for African scientists to conduct research in microgravity, test technologies for extreme and resource-constrained environments, and inspire hundreds of millions of young Africans to reach for the stars.

The programme also addresses the practical challenges of human spaceflight, including life support systems, radiation protection and psychological factors of long-duration missions. Research conducted through this programme has applications in remote healthcare and education, efficient resource utilisation and resilience in harsh environments —all relevant to challenges faced by African communities.