Egypt Is Set to Get Its Very Own Camera on the International Space Station; Here’s Why This Matters!
Egypt is set to be the first country in Africa and the Middle East to have a camera on the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is a modular space station in low Earth orbit. It’s a collaborative, multinational project involving five participating space agencies: NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos, Japan’s JAXA, Europe’s ESA, and Canada’s CSA.
After winning the competition that was organized by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), the Egyptian Space Agency has arranged to send a camera to the ISS, making it the first camera from the MENA region to get there! The competition involved a six-year program with two stages; first was about selecting the candidates and the second training them to live inside the ISS. So the first stage included testing the candidates’ psychological and mental health capabilities.
The camera is also 100% Egyptian, with 13 local engineers and technicians having worked on it. With the installation of such a device, Egyptians will be able to get high-resolution satellite images that will help astronomers understand and reveal the secrets of our universe.
