Nigeria's government hopes to launch its first astronaut beyond Earth's atmosphere by the year 2030 as part of the country's plan to develop a space program. The country believes that space is important for protecting the country's interests. Nigeria is planning a manned space mission that would be the first one made by an African nation.

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Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu is Nigeria's Minister of Science and Technology. He said during a speech in the country's capital city Abuja that space is very valuable for protecting his nation's interests, according to CNN.

This month a Nigerian Space Agency group will visit its partners in China. They will discuss the operation and funding of its space mission.

Onu's announcement has received a lot of criticism. It was soon after a scam email demanding $3 million for a Nigerian astronaut lost in space went viral on the web, and the government's announcements have received low scores from a Nigerian civil society's website.    

However, Nigeria's space program is slowly making progress. Since 2003 its National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) has sent five satellites into outer space. Three are still orbiting Earth and providing important services.

NigeriaSat-X was the last one launched, and the first one designed and built by NASRD engineers.

The country has found many functions for the satellites such as evaluating climate data, and improving farming practices. NASRDA communications chief Felix Ale explains that space applications are key to improving the country through various sectors.  

Nigeria hopes that its space program will inspire stargazers across the continent of Africa. Ale explains that a completed a space mission would encourage other African countries to contribute to future trips beyond Earth's atmosphere.  

In related news, Microsoft's Build developer conference included a HoloLens augmented reality (AR) demo from NASA called Destination: Mars. It puts the AR headset's user on Mars' surface with a hologram of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin.  

The demo also includes a hologram of Erisa Hines from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), according to Engadget. She drives the Curiosity rover on the red planet.   

JPL's Dr. Jeff Norris explains that the demo is not like a theme park ride. Instead, it gives HoloLens fans a view of how NASA scientists see Mars' environment.

Here's a report on Nigeria's space program: