Côte d’Ivoire is planning to send its first locally produced nanosatellite into space by the middle of 2024.

Announced at the 2023 NewSpace Africa Conference in Abidjan by Boubacar Fofana, a principal officer on the project,  the YAM-SAT C1 01 will be built completely in Côte d’Ivoire. It is part of a public-private partnership.

The nanosatellite’s hyperspectral camera is expected to provide cocoa farmers with actionable data such as crop and soil mapping, reports Space in Africa.

It will also monitor crop health, pinpointing outbreaks of diseases or pests, thus allowing farmers to react timeously.

Aside from farming, the nanosatellite is expected to play an important role in national security as well as monitoring maritime operations, supplementing border patrols and preventing illegal mining.

9 May 2023
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