The National Space Conference 2024, held at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research International Conference Centre (CSIR ICC) in Pretoria, was a landmark event that brought together leaders and professionals from various industries under the theme "Harnessing Space Science and Innovation for Sustainability". For the full program click here. This prestigious gathering featured space scientists, representatives from the South African Air Force, heads of Space Agencies from across Africa, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Gabon, and Ghana, and several scientific organisations and universities.

Ms Nkosingizwile Bongiwe Ndlovu, an MSc Geoinformatics student with the University of Pretoria’s Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, and Dr Heidi van Deventer, an Extraordinary Research Association of the Department (Figure 1), presented on Day 2, which focused on “Space and Economic Sustainability”. Ms Ndlovu and Dr van Deventer both presented in the session “Integrated environmental monitoring”.

Figure 1: Ms Ndlovu (furthest from right) and Dr van Deventer (furthest from left) with a fellow presenter (centre) of  SESSION 2: Integrated environmental monitoring of Day 2 of the conference.

Ms Ndlovu presented her research related to her MSc degree in Geoinformatics on “Assessing the hydrological regime changes in the lacustrine wetlands of the Maputaland Coastal Plain”, a study that aligns with the conference's focus on sustainability through innovative space science applications (Figure 2). Her work is being supervised by Dr Van Deventer, and Dr Hansen and Prof Landmann, both from the Department of Geography, Geoinformatics, and Meteorology.

Figure 2:Percentage changes in lacustrine wetland extents between the driest month (June 2016) and the wettest month (April 2022) across quaternary catchments in the Maputaland Coastal Plain.

Dr Van Deventer presented progress on “Monitoring changes in the extent of lacustrine wetlands of Eswatini, Lesotho and South Africa” with the hydroperiod categories of the Gauteng Province some of the first outputs derived from the Mzansi Amanzi remote sensing data (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Results from deriving the hydroperiod categories from the Mzansi Amanzi data for the Gauteng Province.

The presentation was well-received by an audience from various sectors (i.e. Aerospace, Agriculture, Defence, Private, Telecommunications, research institutions and universities) interested in the intersection of space science and sustainability. The conference provided a unique platform for interdisciplinary dialogue, allowing Ms Ndlovu to engage with professionals from diverse backgrounds and gather valuable insights that will enhance the depth and impact of her research.

Reflecting on the experience, Ms Ndlovu said, "Participating in the National Space Conference was an incredible experience. It was inspiring to see how space science is being harnessed for sustainability across different fields. The opportunity to present my work and receive feedback from such a varied audience was invaluable."

The Department of Geography, Geoinformatics, and Meteorology is proud of Ms Ndlovu's contributions and her representation of the university at an event that plays a crucial role in shaping the future of space science and sustainability.