Abstract
Africa is a continent with great assets for Astrophysics and Planetology
(including astrobiology): skies unpolluted with anthropogenic light,
meteorites and impact structures, and vast
sedimentary-metamorphic-igneous records of early Earth’ geologic
evolution. Aware of these assets, a community of scientists is involved
in increasingly ambitious projects. Their original works notably
highlight the African scientific heritage, alongside engagement in
economic, cultural and societal development. One of the notable
achievements of this group is the observation of three stellar
occultations by asteroids in Senegal, in direct support of NASA missions
of exploration of the Solar System. The first campaign was achieved in
August 2018, in support of the flyby of Kuiper belt object Arrokoth by
the New Horizons spacecraft. The second and third campaigns, in
September 2020 and October 2021, in preparation for the upcoming flybys
of Trojan asteroids Polymele and Orus by NASA’s Lucy mission, were led
by Senegalese scientists, supported by a few European astronomers. Other
notable achievements include fieldwork at potential or known impact
structures (including search of tektites in Côte d’Ivoire), providing
opportunities for student training and local education. Members of our
group have also launched the first popular science magazine on astronomy
(in French) (l’Astronomie Afrique). Last, founding the RISE 5A project
(Astronomy and Astrophysics Arising Across Africa), with proposal
intended to be resubmitted to the Horizon Europe program in 2022,
together with some joint educational initiatives linking Egypt and
Spain, will hopefully open new opportunities for staff and students
exchanges between Europe and Africa. These achievements also impart an
enduring engagement of the youth, while reinforcing the role of West
African scientists in the scientific, cultural, and economic development
of their countries and communities worldwide.