# The Status of Space Weather Infrastructure and Research in Africa
## 5 Conclusions and the Way Forward  
In conclusion, we have gathered that:  
1. There is a huge infrastructure gap, so more instruments need to be deployed for space weather monitoring in Africa to fill in the gaps. This should not be left entirely to outsiders. There is a need for more African institutions/governments to invest in space weather research. To a small extent, this already happening, especially as an initiative by some space agencies in Africa, and perhaps the newly established African Space Agency should play a more proactive role in this. 2. The community of space weather researchers in Africa is growing in number and competence, and this should encourage collaborations with other researchers from \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Country** & **Projects** & **Contacts** \\ \hline \multirow{5}{*}{Senegal} & - November 2017, installation of a GNSS station at the & \\  & GLOSS tide gauge in Dakar & \\  & - Installation of CORS (Continuously Operating & Idrissa GAYE \\  & Reference Stations) network in 2022, which will cover & \\  & the country. This CORS network will define the & \\  & - Project to launch a nanosatellite in 2023 & \\ \hline \multirow{5}{*}{South Africa} & - Space Weather Project in preparation for providing & \\  & ICAO advisories for the aviation industry. We are & \\  & currently developing products such as real-time TEC & \\  & maps, scintillation products, and 3-dimensional electron & \\  & density reconstruction maps. & \\  & - Coupled with the one above, there has been a focus on & \\  & the installation of GNSS receivers outside South Africa, & \\  & such as in Kenya and Zambia. All of these are aimed at & \\  & improving the accuracy of our space weather products. & \\  & - The National Astrophysics and Space Science Program & \\  & ([[http://www.nassp.uct.ac.za/](http://www.nassp.uct.ac.za/)]([http://www.nassp.uct.ac.za/](http://www.nassp.uct.ac.za/))) trains postgraduate & \\  & students in Astrophysics and Space Science. Students & \\  & who choose the Space Science stream conduct various & \\  & projects in space physics, including space weather. This & \\  & program has three nodes at the University of Cape & \\  & Town, North West University, and the University of & \\  & KwaZulu Natal & \\ \hline \multirow{5}{*}{Tunisia} & - 2006, installation of an AWESOME station at the & \\  & Faculty of Sciences of Tunis & \\  & - 2007, installation of the first SID station at the Faculty & \\  & of Sciences of Tunis & \\  & - Since 2009, several super-SID stations have & \\  & been installed & \\  & - Tunisia launched its first nanosatellite on Mars in 2021 & \\ \hline \multirow{5}{*}{Uganda} & \multirow{5}{*}{- Developing an institute for space weather research at } & \multirow{5}{*}{Physics Department, Muni University, Arua} \\  & & Busitema University & City, Uganda \\ \cline{1-1}  & & \\ \cline{1-1}  & - Installation of Space Weather instrumentation & \\  & - GNSS, total electron content (TEC), and scintillation & \\  & monitor at Kwame Nkrumah University in Kabwe, & \\  & Zambia, in March 2020 & \\  & - Two (2) space-based augmentation (SBAS) reference & \\  & receivers in the Northwestern District of Chavurah at & \\  & the border with Angola and another in Kabwe at & \\  & Kwame Nkrumah University in March 2020 & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 11: _Cont._outside the continent. African and other researchers should team up and run more joint research projects, write proposals for funding, and carry out joint supervision of students. 3. There is a need to develop thresholds of space weather threats on a variety of technological systems in Africa to inform space weather services in Africa. 4. There is a need to create more awareness among the potential commercial stakeholders whose infrastructures and businesses could be impacted by space weather so that they put in place measures to mitigate space weather impacts. This could be one avenue for attracting the funding needed for research and development. 5.