Zimbabwe is setting its sights on the stars with an ambitious space program aimed at enhancing its sovereignty and technological independence. In an interview with Sputnik Africa, Painos Gweme, Chief Operating Officer of the Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency, highlighted the country’s collaborative efforts with Russia as a cornerstone of this endeavor, emphasizing the critical role of human capital development and advanced technology transfer.
"The training, human capital development of Zimbabwean engineers to know how to make a satellite, to know how to deal with the ground station, and to sign the space exploration—those are the resources that we get from the Russian Federation," Gweme explained.
This partnership has facilitated knowledge exchange, with Zimbabwean engineers gaining expertise through institutions like Roscosmos, Glavkosmos, and Russian universities.
A significant milestone in Zimbabwe's space journey was the recent launch of ZIMSAT-2 on November 5. This satellite marks a step forward in collaborative research, as Gweme noted.
"It was established as a collaborative research framework between Southwest State University and ZIMSAT engineers," he said.
Such initiatives underscore Zimbabwe’s commitment to utilizing space science for national development.
Looking to the future, Zimbabwe is not only focused on launching satellites but also on exploring broader opportunities in space, he explained.
"The long-term goals are to really explore a lot into space and beyond the galaxy," Gweme shared, reflecting the country’s aspiration to match global advancements in space science and technology.
As for Zimbabwe's collaboration with Russia, Gweme expressed optimism.
"The future of Russia-Zimbabwe cooperation in space, I think, is very bright and is going to be one of the best that will make the two countries more robust in terms of exploring space," he concluded.