This week, as the civil war in Syria entered its fourth year, the government of President Bashar al-Assad announced plans to create the countrys first space agency. The state-run SANA news agency did not indicate what kind of projects the Syrian Space Agency will undertake, saying only that they will be of a scientific and research nature, nor did it specify how much it would cost to start up. The goal, it said, is to use space technology for exploration and observing the Earth. But there are doubts about the governments ability to launch a space program in the middle of a civil war that has ravaged Syrias economy and forced many of its best scientists to seek refuge in other countries.
Comments are closed.
