Broadly speaking, the "Space Race" of the 1950s and 60s involved two major players, the United States and the Soviet Union. It was not just the US and the Soviet Union racing to the Moon in the 1960s. A 1964 article in Time magazine about the independence of Zambia included a footnote referring to one man who was not so happy about the celebrations - because it was getting in the way of his space program.

Edward Makuka Nkoloso

That man was Edward Makuka Nkoloso, a science teacher and the self-appointed director of Zambia’s unofficial National Academy of Science, Space Research and Philosophy.

Numerous foreign journalists picked up the story, In one interview for example, Nkoloso told reporters that “he was inspired by a flight he took as a young child and his desire to walk on the clouds, he also said that he was suspicious of the US and Soviet Union sending spies to his lunching site saying he believed they wanted to steal his secrets and get to the lunar surface first

Nkoloso’s aim was to make Zambia the first country to reach the Moon. Perhaps in the wake of independence Nkoloso was keen to prove the country’s power and importance on the world stage. And what better place to test that independence out than the space race?

In an attempt to achieve this mission to the Moon Nkoloso recruited twelve astronauts, and put them through rigorous training of his own devising. He put them in an oil drum, spun them round trees and rolled them down hills in order to prepare them for weightlessness. He taught them to walk on their hands as he believed this to be the way to walk in space. He made them swing on a rope, before cutting the rope to allow them to experience freefall.

16-year-old Matha Mwamba was chosen as the first person to attempt a mission to Mars. Nkoloso claimed that by the end of 1964 the teenage girl astronauta, along with two cats and a Christian missionary, would make the journey to the Moon and then on to Mars.

Nkoloso’s dog Cyclops meanwhile was also to be taken to space, in Zambia’s answer to the Soviet Union’s Laika. The spacecraft was even named after the dog – Cyclops I.

Nkoloso reportedly wrote to numerous countries and organisations asking for money, from Israel and the US to the USSR and UNESCO. The donations he reportedly asked for ranged from $20 million to $2 billion; he received nothing back but well wishes.

Despite asking for money from them, Nkoloso was incredibly suspicious of the US and Soviet Union, saying he believed they wanted to steal his secrets and get to the lunar surface first.

The programme eventually fell apart, and not just because of the lack of funds. Mwamba fell pregnant and returned home. Other astronauts left, reportedly went to look for jobs and never returned. And with no astronauts and no money, the Moon can seem awfully far away.

After the failure of his space program, Nkoloso moved into politics – he was appointed to the Liberation Centre, which focused on regional freedom. Nkoloso died more than 30 years ago, but he now lives on as an icon of Afrofuturism and the Zambian Space Program has attracted new attention in the years since documentary footage of its facilities and training procedures found its way to Youtube.

Good to know

Am I a joke to you?

Raise your hand if u think the moon landing tale is a hoax

the white man actually Thought the earth was flat and ships could fall off at a point, it was the African scientists who Thought the vikings how to circumnavigate, the African race is seen and felt in every continent in the world till today, from the aztec to Thailand this was before columbus knew about black indians or what most know as black Mexicans , even India new Zealand and Australia

Saw this on YouTube some months ago and couldn't help but laugh..

Not even Ethiopia or Egypt buy Zambia.
Why is my mind finding it hard to believe

This is a wild joke. Nothing in these pictures depicted anything that can take anyone to space

Lie to yourself all you want just to make you feel good! 2000 years down the line Africa is no where near TANGIBLE DEVELOPMENTS, NON-SELF DISCOVERY, NON-PURPOSE DRIVEN. And LARGELY still DEPENDENT on the WHITES for FRESH AIR!

Loo

Africa is simply a failure.

A white lie

godofuck231:
the white man actually Thought the earth was flat and ships could fall off at a point, it was the African scientists who Thought the vikings how to circumnavigate, the African race is seen and felt in every continent in the world till today, from the aztec to Thailand this was before columbus knew about black indians or what most know as black Mexicans, even India new Zealand and Australia

this Africans that ruled the world then were Igbo's and its about to happen again, watch out

Trash!!
Were was elon mysk when all these was happening?
Now Elon musk through SpaceX is exploring space anyhow.

There is nothing in that picture to show that man has capacity to visit the moon.

But tech companies have the capacity to spy on people's phones.


My phone made 5 calls to my friend this morning. I only connected it to Bluetooth speaker and was playing local radio.