By Abdullah Muhammad
We took off from our school (I-scholars International Academy, Abuja) at about 11:38 am and we arrived at NASRDA at about 12:20 pm.
We were welcomed by some of the staff of NASRDA and the summary of our engagement was outlined by one of the staff members, which included:
• Learning about astronauts
• Learning about the galaxies
• Learning about the sun and its planets.
A nice man by the name of Abubakar Sadiq gave us a story of how NASRDA started, what they are doing, and their goals. He explained also the processes involved in launching a satellite and Nigeria along with other international scientists had launched six satellites whose names are as follows:
Nigerian SAT 1
Nigerian SAT 2
Nigerian SAT X
Nicom SAT X
Nicom SAT XR
Edu SAT 1
All of these satellites were launched outside Nigeria. Their target is to launch a satellite on Nigerian soil by Nigerian engineers by the year 2030, he said. Launching a satellite requires a large space close to a water body and that is why Lagos State was chosen as the location for the projected 2030 satellite launching, he clarified.
We were taken into a studio where the Milky Way galaxy and its content were explained. A staff member of NASRDA displayed a chart of the sun and its planets. He informed us about the billions of galaxies in the universe, one of which is the earth’s galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy. He discussed the planets and other planetary bodies such as meteorites and asteroids. Samples of the real asteroid were shown to us.
Abdullah is of Ischolars International Academy, Abuja
