The Black Space Experience

                                       
                                         The Black Space Experience

"The Black Space Experience","  Like ancient peoples elsewhere in the world, Africans (sub-Saharan black peoples) “shared the same inspiration and awe of the stars” and “struggled to make sense of it [through] creativity and intelligence” , patiently taking “countless generations to watch, justify and map the heavens” and define their relationship with them.
 Thebe Medupe, a prominent astronomer at the University of Cape Town and the South African Astronomical Observatory, “[Africans] shaped constellations out of stellar patterns and came up with stories about them, …constructed calendars to organize their lives and even erected stone alignments… to follow the sun’s ‘path’ throughout the year.
, the first black astronaut to walk in space stated, “When we look at history itself, you realize thaclick heret astronomy – the study of the stars – that whole origin… [was] being done by people from Africa.

African societies dating back to the ancient times relied on “the stars to predict the likelihood of rain, so they could prepare the land” for planting, for migration
 the Bozo people of Mali “migrate along the delta of the Niger river when the Pleiades transit overhead and begin their fishing season when the Pleiades leave the night sky” and navigation as well as for determining points in time, leading to the construction of megalith (large stone) observatories and the development of lunar-based calendars, all of which were critical since for them, “knowledge about the movement of the stars [was] a matter of life and death.
  In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) “the Milky Way is called ‘God’s clock’ [since] it is orientated east-west during the wet season and… north-south during the middle of the dry season.
  As points tilt to the right, dramatic increases in rain[fall occur and] as points tilt to the left, dramatic decreases in rainfall [occur].
  Based on archeological data, Nabta consisting of “stones aligned with the different rising positions of the Sun…  (caused by the Earth’s rotation) [used] to determine the seasons” is perhaps the oldest astronomical alignment in the world, 1,000 years older than Stonehenge.
In Benin and Togo, “the Batamalimba people designed their houses such that their crossbeams [were] aligned to the equinox sunrise and sunset” while the Karanga people constructed “a chevron pattern bisected by the solstice Sun” in the Great Zimbabwe stone city that was built around A.D
 400 and completed about A.D
 1350 to mark “important astronomical seasonal events.
In conjunction with the construction of megaliths, African societies ranging from southern Africa to sub-Saharan northern Africa, also developed calendars based on the lunar cycle.
  At the same time, another early lunar calendar based on a series of concentric circles ranging in number from 29 to 30 was found in “certain caves in Tanzania.
  Examples are the Borana of southern Ethiopia and northwest Kenya, the Mursi of Ethiopia, the Ngas of Nigeria, and the Dogon of Mali, each of whom either adds an extra month consisting of 11 days at the end of the year or a 33-day month at the end of each third year to compensate for the difference that arises from the 365.
5 days each.
5-day month and
“gamwe” to describe the final 11 days that follow the 12th and last
“bergu” of each year.
Because of their interest in the heavens and their attempt to create intelligible frameworks around them, Africans also developed myths and legends surrounding celestial bodies and constellations.
Examples of these African myths and legends are as follows:  The Bushmen who inhabit southern Africa “believe the Milky Way was made by a Bushman girl who wished for a little light and threw wood ashes into the sky [creating] different colored stars by throwing different colored burning roots into the air.
  One involves two stars of the Southern Cross, Alpha and Gamma Crucis…  The creator had two sons called Khanka and Khoma.
  In his anger and despair, the creator made fire and hid it in a meteor disguised as an eland’s horn.
  [Afterwards the creator’s] heart was calmed and there was fire for everyone.
 [The next is about Pleiades and the three stars of the Orion Belt, in which] …seven daughters of the sky god (Pleiades) were married to a hunter.
  He was such a bad hunter that his arrow missed, and because he was afraid of the nearby lion (Betelgeuse, another star) he left the arrow where it lay (now known as Orion’s sword).
In addition to merely studying astronomy, developing lunar calendars, and creating myths and legends about the heavens, Africans also exchanged information and ideas with Islamic scientists following the establishment of protected trade routes in the areas encompassing Mali, Mauritania and Senegal.
  In the country of Ghana gold grows in the sand as carrots do, and is plucked at sunrise.
However, it was not until late in the 20th century, some two decades after the United States and the now defunct Soviet Union (USSR) had begun their manned space programs, that descendents of these early African astronomers actually made it into space, much in part due to the efforts of Luke Weathers

This led to June A.
 1967 when another pilot, Major Robert H.
 1967) with over 2,500 flight hours behind him, successfully completed the Air Force’s Flight Test Pilot Training School at Edwards Air Force Base in California and was named the first African-American astronaut.
Despite the setback, blacks were not going to be denied their place in space.
  As a result greater numbers of blacks enrolled and were accepted into America’s space program.
  a Cuban of black-hispanic heritage was launched into space as part of the Soyuz 38 crew.
 1944) conducted experiments in an attempt to find [the cause] of space sickness, and… a cure.
This was followed by the August 30,
 1983 launch of Guion “Guy” Bluford
  Upon entering space during the worlds’ first night launch, Guy Bluford became the first African-American astronaut to make the trip

The next black astronaut to make history was Dr.
 A.
 1956), the daughter of a maintenance worker (her father) and teacher (her mother) who earned a BS in Chemical Engineering, a BA in African-American studies, and a doctorate in medicine.


When the space shuttle
Endeavor was launched on September 12,
 1992, Dr.
  Following her 7 day, 22 hour, 30 minute mission aboard
Endeavor as a mission specialist (STS-47 September 12-20,
 1992), Jemison retired from space flight to found
The Jemison Group “to research, develop and implement advanced technologies suited to the social, political, cultural and economic context of the individual, especially for the developing world.
 Jemison in following the encouragement and support given by her parents, consistently encourages African-Americans to pursue scientific careers especially with the space program – “This is the one time when we can get in on the ground floor.
  “I was watching what was happening with the space program, watching these guys go up… people called them A hero
“I have a dream” speech in August, the Birmingham Church bombing a month later that martyred four young black girls, etc.
  Here on this planet we were fighting for human rights and at the same time we were sending men to the moon.
 Harris dedicated his space walk, which he described as “probably the most wonderful day of my life”[30] to “all African-Americans and to African American achievement.
In addition to the above-mentioned African-American astronauts, others have also pursued and made the journey to and from space.
 McNair, Ph.
 and Col.
 Anderson, made the ultimate sacrifice – giving up their lives in quest of scientific exploration and discovery for the benefit of humanity.



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