How often do you wonder about what lies beyond the wide expanse of the sky you see every day?
Apart from an occasional glance at the heavens to check the weather, do you ever think about how your life is influenced by space? People tend to associate space with telescopes and astronauts travelling to the moon, not realising how critical the boundless space beyond the Earth's atmosphere has become in our daily lives.
Whenever you pick up your cellphone to call a friend, use the Internet to google, email a colleague who may be in an office on the other side of the world, or switch on to watch your favourite DStv show, you are accessing a resource through space technology. Everyday space technology uses satellites that send and receive information to and from Earth. For instance, satellites in space get information about weather systems to improve the accuracy of the weather forecasts, so you can prepare for rain or a hot summer's day.
Satellites and their supporting applications help you navigate by sending information to your car's GPS (Global Positioning System). Such information is also used to identify and locate aeroplanes and ships, as well as monitoring movement across a country's borders.
Apart from the convenience it adds to our lives, space technology has helped us get a better understanding of our planet through Earth observation. Several satellites have been developed and placed in space to collect information and images of the Earth's surface, including land and water masses, urban areas and forests. Images enable us to observe land being used for farming or industrial purposes, protect our indigenous ecosystems, plan and monitor the expansion of towns and cities, and check on the water levels in our rivers and dams.
South Africa is committed to developing an advanced space industry over the next few decades. National challenges such as job creation, poverty and resource management will be addressed through the capability of space technology.
As South Africa celebrates World Space Week, the Department of Science and Technology hopes young people will participate in space science-related activities organised through the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA). The focus will be on exposing the general public, pupils and teachers to space science through workshops, role models, exhibitions, demonstrations and various hands-on activities.
World Space Week 2014 will kick off with the launch of two weather balloons into near space on 4 October, simulating the launch of a satellite into space. The balloons will lift off from Vryburg in the North West, with the aim of illustrating the benefits of project-based, science learning activities. The launch is collaboration between the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), the Secunda Amateur Radio Club, and 80 of Mpumalanga's top achieving learners.
On 6 October, Dr Michael Kosch of SANSA, will deliver a public lecture in Hermanus, in the Western Cape, on "Sprites in Space". Sprites are electrical discharges that take place during thunderstorms, producing amazing visual atmospheric phenomena.
World Space Week activities will take place throughout the country, with a particular focus on the Eastern Cape, where Minister Pandor will speak at an open day at Walter Sisulu University in Mthatha. The open day will be preceded by roadshows in and around Mthatha.
