- By Marco Oriudo
- BBC Africa
Cameroonian scientist Marie Makuate has been at the forefront of using information gathered from satellites to save lives on Earth in emergencies, but says the cost of the data should prompt more African countries to launch their own spacecraft material.
In the hours after the deadly earthquake that struck central Morocco last September, the 32-year-old’s phone started buzzing.
She was thousands of kilometers from the disaster zone, but her skills in analyzing satellite imagery were vital.
“I woke up to text alerts from my colleagues telling me there had been a disaster in Morocco,” Ms Makuate tells the BBC from her base in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé.
As a geospatial expert for the NGO Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, she creates maps to help emergency services navigate an unpredictable area so people in need can be reached quickly.
It’s a job that Ms Makuate says gives her purpose and motivation.
“I was shocked when I heard about it [Morocco] disaster, but then I thought that if I mapped as much infrastructure as possible, I would help other people save lives.”
Last September, its maps, derived from open-source, freely available images, became a lifesaver for organizations such as Doctors Without Borders working in the devastated cities, which include Marrakesh.
A map of the kind Ms. Makuate creates looks very different from the ones most people might be familiar with.
She shows an updated high-definition view of the area where she and the team she leads are adding life-saving information.
“The most important thing for emergency responders to know when there’s a disaster is, ‘Where’s the road?’ where is the water where is a river or a [shopping] mall;” says Mrs Makuate.
But because of the costs associated with launching and maintaining a satellite in orbit, the imagery that geospatial analysts rely on can be expensive, especially when needed on short notice, as in the case of natural disasters.
“When an emergency starts, I have to ask our satellite partners to see who is offering the best quality images for free.”
Some satellite companies offer free imaging for disaster relief purposes, but assistance is often limited in scope and time.
“For example, in the case of Morocco, we only had access to images of a certain area, and after we finished, we could no longer access them.”
Morocco has its own satellites, but Ms Makuate argues that more African countries should send them into space and make their production more freely available.
It’s not just about emergencies. Satellite images can help, among other things, to enhance agriculture, analyze population changes and understand what is happening to natural resources such as water.
“If a country has its own satellite, it doesn’t have to pay for the images,” says the young scientist.
Satellite images can cost as much as $25 (£20) per square kilometer – taking high-definition photos of an area the size of Lagos, for example, would cost more than $80,000.
Ms Makuate has made her case for more pan-African collaboration before a panel of industry experts gathered this week in the Angolan capital, Luanda, for the NewSpace Africa Conference.
The meeting brought together investors and experts on how space technology can help the continent.
There is huge potential in the African space sector – it is expected to be worth more than $20 billion by 2026, according to consultancy firm Space in Africa. But the vast majority of that money comes from outside the continent – through companies that sell services to Africans.
“Imagine if we took just 10% of this share and invested it in African companies,” says Dr. Zolana João, director general of Angola’s National Space Program.
He, like Ms Makuate, believes greater investment on the continent will better serve African governments, which are often hampered by a lack of reliable data.
“If I can map very precisely and quantitatively important areas of the country, then I can relay that [data] to the government so they can make better decisions,” says Dr. João.
South Africa and Egypt are the African countries with the most satellites in orbit – both with 13 each – according to consultancy Spacehubs Africa. By comparison, a 2022 survey published in Forbes magazine said the US had more than 3,400.
South Africa uses its satellites to monitor the impact of mining activities, as well as provide consistent online and telephone coverage, according to Ms Makuate.
In the case of Egypt, investments in telecommunications satellites reflect the country’s position as a media powerhouse throughout the Arabic-speaking region.
Beyond investment, the most fundamental obstacle in the way of Africa’s space ambition is access to education.
“This is our weakest link when it comes to implementing space programs in Africa,” says Dr. João.
This is a task that Ms Makuate is ready to undertake.
In 2019, he obtained a master’s degree in geophysics from the African Regional Center for Space Science and Technology based in Osun State, Nigeria.
“In Cameroon this program did not exist, so when I came back from Nigeria I wanted everyone to know about it,” says Ms Makuate.
But taking the course also showed her how underrepresented African women were in this scientific field.
“In a class of 35 we were three women, the next year they told me they had one or two women.”
It was the spark that motivated her to found Geospatial Girls and Kids, an association that offers free vocational training in geospatial science to young women in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire.
“It’s easier for us to be inspired by women than by men because when you see women on a panel, it inspires you to do the same next time.”
At the end of the course, students receive a certificate and connect with potential employers.
Three of Ms. Makuate’s students are now working as geospatial analysts and data collectors.
She says motivating her students can be challenging, but also rewarding.
“The students say that I am strict with them, but at the end of the training they are happy because I pushed them beyond their limits.”
He wants to create the next generation of experts who can analyze satellite images, who he hopes will be able to work with data produced by equipment sent into space by African governments.
This, she believes, would benefit everyone on the continent and fit her own personal mission.
“Everything I do is for one purpose – to impact people’s lives,” says Ms Makuate.