Pan-African Asteroid Search Campaign: Africa's Contribution to Planetary Defense

TL;DR

This paper highlights Africa's active role in planetary defense through the Pan-African Asteroid Search Campaign, involving citizen scientists in asteroid discovery efforts and expanding regional participation.

Contribution

It introduces the Pan-African Citizen Science e-Lab as a major partner in asteroid search, showcasing Africa's contribution to planetary defense and citizen science engagement.

Findings

Over 30 asteroids discovered by 60 citizen scientists

595 citizen scientists from 40+ countries engaged

Expansion plans to involve thousands more

Abstract

Asteroid search is a global effort for planetary defense. The International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) is the leading global educational outreach program that provides high-quality astronomical datasets to citizen scientists to discover asteroids. Since December 4, 2020, the Pan-African Citizen Science e-Lab (PACS e-Lab) has been IASC's biggest partner on the continent in recruiting and training citizen scientists in asteroid search endeavors. Over 30 asteroids have been discovered by 60 citizen scientists. About 595 citizen scientists from over 40 countries have been engaged in the project up to the time of composing this literature. The group is set to expand its endeavors to the rest of the continent and aims to engage thousands of citizen scientists.