The Little Known Zambian Space Program Was Weird

[@astrumspace]

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[@IgnatiusMubanga-vm5fc]

Mr Astrum how am I supposed to pay we don’t use dollar for currency and how am I supposed to pay

[@Car1Sagan]

I joined your Patreon & added my address @astrumspace

[@nadamuchu]

hi, I am deaf and I noticed your captions are having more and more errors in them. I'm assuming you're using some automated tools, but I would really, really appreciate it if you went back to the old way or do something different to ensure the quality remains the same level it has always been: the very best. thanks for all of your amazing videos over the years.

[@howaboutataste]

"Afronauts" going to Mars in the latter half of the 1960s and making contact with the natives needs to be a movie. Not a good movie, but a movie.

[@Tal-q3r]

its not? 😟

[@targuscinco]

Im in! When do we start filming? Can I be the cat that gets thrown out when we get there? It will be shot on location I am presuming?

[@spunkyspaz]

Like Who Killed Captain Alex.

[@Frau_Brotchen]

@@spunkyspaz someone contact the guy who made that movie, tell them we have an idea lmfao

[@thomasbell7033]

Definitely not a good movie. That would destroy the whole concept.

[@Plab1402]

Imagine in the future when we land on mars we find a thriving Zambian colony

[@Ionut-bg6vw]

And hearing that zammila eeeee wakawaka eeeee eee song:)

[@Aadarsh__purush]

Lol, haha

[@yaldabaoth2]

Those aren't sandstorms, those are vuvuzela blasts.

[@yaldabaoth2]

@@SouvenTudu1 Watch the video first, then judge whether being silly about this is out of line.

[@SouvenTudu1]

@@yaldabaoth2 😂🤣

[@mason96575]

I’ve always felt that he knew what he was doing was a joke- he didn’t really believe in it. He kept it up to get the kids interested in science.

[@robertunderwood1011]

I suppose you could say that was a good intention, but eventually the kids would see through it and realize that it was a 15:38 There was really no science there. 15:38 What’s even more sad is that there are areas of science, such as mathematics, which do not require huge budgets and generations of infrastructure . Ramanujan, for example, was inspired by a textbook of mathematical formulas and went on to independently re-create much of mathematical knowledge and extend the field into the unknown to develop new lines of research. Pencil , paper, and plenty of coffee. Although such, talent is precious and rare , it might be discovered more often if we recognized its value and just looked for it We could begin by giving elementary school children, a much broader idea of what the field of mathematics encompasses

[@robertunderwood1011]

There are people who preferred to dream them to face reality. There are people who really believe that Trump honestly thought he won the election in 2020 in spite of all of his advisors telling him otherwise. It takes a special kind of person to hold on so tenaciously to their convictions, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. They are not heroes.. If anything, they subvert integrity degrade humanity. And most of those who follow them do so happily, and never learn.

[@barahng]

This is basically just a slightly more advanced version of a WW2 cargo cult. They copy what they see but they don'r understand the why or how.

[@ysf-psfx]

It's a weird mentality. You see it throughout non-developed nations. They think that just by emulating the clothing and styles, they are executing the programs faithfully.

[@tonnymalangisha162]

i never thought my country wound come up on your channel much love from Lusaka Zambia

[@josephsipalo-tr4vb]

I'm so shocked 😭😭😂

[@rickozzy6898]

Awesome! Is Nkoloso a well known figure in your country?

[@bramvissers4985]

Is this story common knowledge in Zambia? How do Zambians usually feel about this?

[@TurkFebruary88]

Are you embarrassed?

[@thedarkestdreamer7674]

Lol I was also shocked to see this on my homepage from Astrum of all channels. Of all things in our history to show up, it had to be this lmao

[@robfut9954]

How has this not been made into a comedy yet? Cool Runnings meets Apollo 13

[@forbiddenera]

Apparently a short from 2014 exists - a clip was used here.

[@robfut9954]

@ oh I need to find that. This is pure comedy gold…

[@davidwilliamson9333]

Jack - Ass , The Zambia 🇿🇲 Version 😅😅😅😅😅

[@huntermcd4239]

Just cancelled my trip to Amsterdam. I'm going to Zambia instead. Clearly they have better smoke.

[@storytimewithunclekumaran5004]

malawi wowee

[@experienceofchris1108]

Yeah they smoking fat crack rocks 😂

[@jonstfrancis]

Spacegirl, two cats and a missionary should be a band name.

[@bighammer6278]

Spacegirl, two big black cats and a missionary!!

[@moverseve]

Personally, I think it might work better if Spacegirl was the band name, and "Two Cats and a Missionary" was the name of their first album.

[@MrPooPooJohn]

Maybe the title to a song or setup to a joke. Not a band name.

[@jonstfrancis]

​@@moverseve that would work!

[@UnwrittenSpade]

@@jonstfrancisbahahahaha love this

[@possesstime2648]

"You might be the most bizzare astronaut i've ever heard of!" "But you have heard of me..."

[@davidmwendavidz8971]

I couldn't help but laugh at Alex almost about to laugh throughout the documentary, a proud Zambian

[@realracing3specter295]

and what did you do for your country? lol

[@dustinhawley1896]

@@realracing3specter295 piss off

[@JohnDoe-tv4zf]

Back in the 50’s the Polish government said they were going to try and visit the Sun. They were ridiculed for it, but rebuffed by saying they would go at night. True story.

[@sayeager5559]

I miss old Norm everyday.

[@JohnDoe-tv4zf]

@ he will always be the best in my book, is anyone even close to him?

[@jangivik1718]

😂😂😂

[@don.keebles]

The Welsh government was not far behind. But they were smarter, they decided to land on the Sun's north pole where it was colder.

[@juhasznagyjozsef]

I call cap, we all know that Poland cannot into space.

[@Tim091]

I had to check it wasn't April 1st!!

[@JohnnyNiteTrain]

NASA budget: $25.4 billion Zambia space budget: 10 rupees from a young Indian boy

[@patrickjolly1923]

When I was a child of the late 80’s, I was sold on the idea of moon bases by yesterday.

[@cornnatron3030]

i always thought why would you want to go to a moon based prison by your own choice lol and why try to make a extinct planet/moon livable when we cant even do that here on earth with all the resources close at hand.

[@deesnutz42069]

flying cars and hoverboards too

[@ole9421]

I like to think he did it as pure satire. A big poke in the eye to all the so called super powers.

[@homuraakemi493]

Terminal stage copium

[@napoleonfeanor]

Sadly no

[@Will-eq7uh]

It doesn't really work when they sucessfully get to the moon.

[@stefanodadamo6809]

Seemed more Zambia take on cargo cults...

[@KeluMocy]

Average IQ of Zambia is around 68. Yeah, it must have been satire.

[@casek6930]

"Mata had a child of her own" Yeah, she got pregnant while employed as an afronaut.

[@darksu6947]

Same thing happened to me 😢

[@vipergts109]

Yea for some reason I thought he made all this up for that exact purpose,

[@redhammer5783]

@@vipergts109 thats what i thought when i read about this in the past. He was just baggin mata. Pretty sure thats what it was all about for him. To populate lol

[@user-living_maestro]

I heard about this but I honestly brushed it off as an hoax, didn't know my country would be on your channel today, much love, Zambian kuchalo

[@wafikiri_]

Karibu!

[@user-living_maestro]

@wafikiri_ yessai 😁

[@realracing3specter295]

even if it all was just a satire, or actual effort from the science teacher, I do have respect for him to have such an ambition. Specially from a country who was also in a long long colonial rule for decades and decades like mine, I can relate well. Rising from those conditions and trying to make his country proud... respect for the one man army.

[@edenisburning]

What a fantastic story! I've vaguely heard of this, but usually in a way that just made fun out of it. It was nice to hear the full story in an objective and less critical manner.

[@justoldog]

My friends and I did stuff like this in elementary school.

[@StEvEn-dp1ri]

He wanted international headlines? To what end? If he wanted to disprove stereo types, it seems he reinforced some of them. It's just so outlandish it had no chance of being taken seriously by anyone. I certainly don't get it, but this is a fantastic story I've never heard before. It's funny on another level whether it was satire or not.

[@roxyamused]

lotta weird racism coming out of the woodworks here.

[@peterloohunt]

@@roxyamused I see none in the above comment.

[@TheRoadfarmer]

​@@roxyamusedLotta racism in this video

[@JoeSmith-cy9wj]

I too dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Mr. Nkoloso came much closer than I.

[@barahng]

I can't believe you made this video Astrum 😂

[@jjcale539]

[@gtg4529]

In 2017, a polish guy, Bartek Sabela, wrote a reportage entitled "Afronauci. Z Zambii na Księżyc" (Afronauts. From Zambia to the Moon). Apart from being brilliantly written, it proves once again that the best stories - as you know - are not invented, they are written by the world. And it allows us to understand another piece of Africa... I have no idea if it was published in English, but it contains answers to a few of your questions... From the cover: "Sabela reconstructs Nkoloso's story with Benedictine zeal. He meticulously puts together the puzzle of history, visits archives in Lusaka, browses the local press, and searches for witnesses to events from half a century ago. An excellent report and a great work on the shaping of contemporary political identity in the non-European world. Certainly one of the most original books about Africa in recent years!"

[@simona_ab]

Sounds like a book worth reading!

[@simona_ab]

Sounds like a book worth reading, for real!

[@BryanKennethM]

Maybe before a space program, Zambia should get a DENTAL program!

[@tygical]

5:08 IT SOUNDS LIKE HE SAID "AND CAUSE CHINESE TO PASS OUT" OVER THAT VIDEO LMFAOOO

[@BenAriH]

Came for this comment!

[@Andre_XX]

I grew up in Africa. I don't think this was satire.

[@supermaster2012]

We wuz kangz n shiet

[@victrixx]

The man was educated and a teacher. Clearly it was a long winded joke.

[@supermaster2012]

@@victrixx he was the leader of an anti-Rhodesia cult, he was conning people to fund his crusade against whites.

[@CrystalAbrahams]

Content excellent, as always. 🇨🇦

[@810PRODUCTIONS]

Literally every space based KZbin Channel, including Astrum, covered this exact topic around the same time this year. They simply copy each other and think the viewers do not notice. Astrum is producing content just to promote merch at this point.

[@zthemythz]

you can claim he was an intelligent guy and then tell us about all the ways he was really dumb

[@PrimeRibb69]

Zambia has a plan to land the first man on the Sun. They will do it by landing at night.

[@andymouse]

That's the spirit !

[@davidequattrocchi5083]

Impossible! Everybody knows there is no Sun at night!

[@davidevans3227]

lool

[@keirfarnum6811]

Good plan! 🚀🌞🌚

[@chikobiscuit]

As a Zambian this is probably the most bizarre thing I've ever heard in the whole of Zambian history, after the Mushala story💀 (iykyk)

[@wheeljork]

Wow you missed the mark on the Zambian "space cult" story. In reality, the man was a loony cult leader, but in your version, he was a slightly eccentric visionary with unorthodox training methods.

[@1shagg420]

Let's be honest, he believed he could fly to space.

[@18000rpm]

Dunning-Kruger at its finest.

[@ScotsmanGamer]

Zambians meeting Aliens and them running away for them to say 'Why ahhhhhhhhhhhh youuuuuuuuu runnning sir?'

[@Rickiye]

3:47 "Two cats, also specially trained"

[@RI5E_AGAINST]

you're wrong for this man haha. These comments are going to be wild and I'm here for it.

[@balazsvarga1823]

The moon is up on the sky. It is up there. Like a ceiling. Your hands are closer to the ceiling than your legs, so you walk on your hands.

[@nomadhawg]

I managed to keep my composure until I got the part where they cut the rope on the swing to experience “free fall” 😂

[@intimatenomad4273]

I love this. Curve ball. Deeply refreshing. Cheers mate for adding a human story to a dry topic that I love. 🙏

[@wuaf_devas9678]

Alex, are you taking drugs? Because, I dont know how else to explain this episode.

[@mariuszborawski]

Niesamowita historia! 🚀 Film doskonale pokazuje, jak marzenia i ambicje mogą prowadzić do niezwykłych przedsięwzięć, nawet w obliczu ogromnych wyzwań. Dziękuję za ten wspaniały materiał, który inspiruje i przypomina, że warto dążyć do swoich celów. Czekam na więcej takich filmów! 🌟

[@TurkFebruary88]

There were no “extraordinary undertakings” … they rolled down hills in barrels..

[@loganmapes2307]

This guy really hit all the stereotypes

[@aliveandwellinisrael2507]

Don't you know Africans actually invented everything?

[@TheRoadfarmer]

I'm not sure this inspiring story disproves the stereotypes you think it does.

[@konplayz]

Zambia’s flag is honestly S tier

[@Trustrum86]

He should grade more countries/states/etc. flags. I never found the subject interesting until I came across his videos

[@bear499]

Haha, when I saw that thumbnail, I knew what was coming. Mr Edward Makuka Nkoloso the space legend himself. I've been obsessed with his story for ages. Never thought I would see this channel cover it, but man, am I glad I got the notification today.

[@randomideas991]

Rumor is that “he got Martha pregnant “

[@user-xn4hu3nh9n]

I love the seriousness you provided in this documentary.

[@PeterKertesz2013]

This is the KZbin video of 2024 , thank you!!😂

[@AmaNotaGogo]

what happened to the cats?

[@jonstfrancis]

Maybe they had kittens and retired from the space program.

[@mugennojin3513]

Got adopted by a goth mommy

[@landsgevaer]

The constellations Felix Major and Felix Minor were named after them, the rumour goes...

[@chongli3007]

Haitians ate them in Ohio

[@AmaNotaGogo]

@landsgevaer rofl 😜😋😹

[@miscaccount9438]

0:46 this is probably the most important line of this video

[@hirkdeknirk1]

Sometimes a mind is too big to accept the shackles of reality.

[@thomasbell7033]

We laugh, but...nah, we just laugh.

[@bsadewitz]

The literal end game of the space program is the colonization of space. Zambia was a newly independent former colony. The man was active in the independence movement. Yeah, you are supposed to laugh, but there is a "but". The idea is that maybe you'd fill in the blank. Whatever you put in the blank, that's up to you. But there is a blank there. Of course I laughed--it's hilarious. The genius of this is that, no matter how people react (or choose not to), they always prove his point.

[@neddreadmaynard]

Massive Loon. Love him.❤

[@ahre6295]

You can only pray that at some point he will unlock something like “Waaagh!”

[@MarcoLandin]

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

[@TurkFebruary88]

9:31 really broke apart them stereotypes huh 🐒🚀

[@supermaster2012]

They wanted to plant them watermelons on Mars

[@dukemetzger3784]

What a great story and one I have never heard before!

[@arkoobi]

Fascinating story!

[@droogsurgeon1440]

What a hero! ❤❤❤

[@puntabachata]

Maybe to Mars, Texas 😂😂😂

[@welwitschia3756]

The boy who donated ₹10 was onto something

[@KeluMocy]

Onto being scammed out of 10 rupees.

[@TurkFebruary88]

The boys heart and mind was in the right place.

[@Flibbybibby]

If his goal was to show the world stage that Africa was capable of contributing to the technological advances of science… I believe he failed.

[@King-beyond-the-Line]

Once I dreamed I was happily gazing at the sky. The bright stars were moving very fast. Somehow I knew the pattern so well, as if I had watched them countless times. I could instantly be anywhere, everywhere, watched a galaxy from distance or a blackhole up close. I had no scientific knowledge but I knew how to have fun. The universe was my playground. It was a dream.

[@keyera1378]

We choose to go to the Moon and shieeet.

[@aim....]

There are three essentials to leadership: humility, clarity and courage! The man looked and behaved like a psych ward escape but at least he had a vision! Twisted n super freakin messed up super b$ but still the vision n dream to land on some imaginary Mars somewhere in the space in a simple air powered barrel rocket!

[@antr7493]

"Afronauts" That's a T-Shirt

[@gabriox2good]

My ex-girlfriend's grandfather was the first vice president of Zambia 🇿🇲. After they gained their independence

[@zackcorrell5746]

Sure

[@freedumbsquirts4809]

That's one way to say you have STIs.

[@supermaster2012]

Bruh you haven't touched a woman in your life.

[@DefaultFlame]

. . .Seeing the thumbnail and the name reminds me waaaay too much about Kerbal Space Program. Edit: . . . It's worse than Kerbal Space Program. KSP might be unprofessional, but at least KPS starts out with the basic grasp of "big rocket underneath, sealed capsule for pilot, big parachute the pilot can trigger in front." If his goal was to prove the stereotypes wrong he did an abyssmal job of it.

[@bfeezey]

Replace the Kerbals with cats and the rocket stages with various oil barrels. I'd play it.

[@DefaultFlame]

@bfeezey There's a spiritual successor to KSP called Kitten Space Agency in development currently. So . . .

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks, Alex! 🚀

[@thorus528]

Loving your accent. Gonna watch some more clips just for that.

[@sips3812]

oh wow. I wish you the very best, Astrum!!!

[@vespurrs]

EDIT: You did not disappoint! I think I first learned about this on Qxir. Looking forward to watching your telling of it!

[@Suburp212]

Awesome.

[@TheLonesomeBricoleur]

My doods, now we don't want your silly Astrum wings we want ZAMBIAN ASTRONAUT WINGS

[@paperboyfromreality]

That kid lifted up in the barrel looked like he was worried about sharp rusty edges 😅

[@user-McGiver]

Hard to make a comment that doesn't sound ''racist'' on this one... so just for the algo here... P.S. funny story... it could make a great cartoon... maybe a movie later?... lol

[@CurtisJanzen]

@user-mcgiver why so afraid of being perceived as racist? It's common knowledge that sub-Saharan Africans have homo erectus DNA and are more primitive than the rest of the world. they make great athletes but not much else

[@wk8219]

My first thought was the similarity to the 1959 Peter Sellers classic The Mouse That Roared.

[@612minigun]

Gotta start somewhere.

[@Astroponicist]

He was a genius Medicine man for Zambia. It is obvious to me that he held a delicate balance between the mental world of the colonizer, & the tribal believer. From my work on understanding the nature of social communication I can see clearly what he was doing. By inspiring the believers to think & share the dream of space he set the future to include the idea that Zambia could choose to include itself in the dream of space flight. By challenging the Colonizers for their over reaching history the prepared his believers to avoid those same mistakes when the set forth to explore the future. I salut you sir. That & they had some fun!

[@napoleonfeanor]

Or he was just mad. War does that to some people.

[@roxyamused]

yeah, I agree. The vibe totally seems like tongue n cheek, science education to me that is meant to inspire young minds.

[@supermaster2012]

He was literally a cult leader that spent his life hating on Rhodesia.

[@bsadewitz]

​@@napoleonfeanorIf you read about the guy himself, you'll see that he wasn't.

[@bsadewitz]

​​​​@@supermaster2012"Hating on Rhodesia"? Lolololol. THAT is comedy gold. You might wanna remove the "on". The genius of this is that, no matter how people react, they can't help but prove his point. I never even realized that until i read these comments. Cult leader? How do you figure? What, you think those kids thought they were going to space? Lol. “Our rocket crew is ready. Specially trained spacegirl Matha Mwamba, two cats (also specially trained) and a missionary will be launched in our first rocket. But I have warned the missionary he must not force Christianity on the people if they do not want it.” Do you not see the satire there? Anyone else you can think of who had Christianity forced upon them?

[@taziefahmed9750]

WOW did not know this thank you for sharing this :)

[@kidpeligro7878]

"Never let your critics know your next move" Till his death no one knew if he was serious or joking making people speculate what were his true intentions

[@Guitcad1]

At first, I wondered if this was an example of "cargo cult science", but after finishing the video, it does sound a lot more like satire.

[@nickrican]

A great Story I knew nothing about. Thank You.

[@vitrums]

Bro's been trolling with the highest proficiency, one that modern trolls can only envy of.

[@YueYukii]

Their hearts were in the right place, but everything else....

[@dancoroian1]

Started watching earlier, just came back to it and wanted to say -- this thumbnail (with the B&W photo of the suited up 'nauts) is way more enticing!

[@ColonelEviscerator]

If I've learned anything, it's that the science teacher and plucky team of highschool teams will bet the super powers at anything they put their minds to. Oh wait, that's only in anime. This is the real world. Carry on.

[@mariocanedo196]

Nice approach to this story.

[@mirthenary]

This makes me think of Sinbad's Black Lightning character from the Superman's funeral skit from SNL 😆

[@setituptoblowitup]

RIP mad Mike.🚀

[@360rocketz]

i think if you strapped enough giraffes head to toe, you could climb into space. With enough giraffes you could even climb them all the way to mars.

[@graemebrumfitt6668]

Bloody Awesome! TFS, GB :)

[@Scotian280]

By some accounts it was him (the teacher) who got the girl pregnant… and she wasn’t 16 but 15….

[@titan1235813]

That is so endearing and cute! 🥰

[@BZ-bo8dp]

I first read about this in Patrick Moores's book "Can you speak Venusian?" in the 1970s

[@mattcuti2961]

Love this story ♡

[@primordial.sounds]

Sounds more like a cult than a national space agency. lol

[@supermaster2012]

We wuz kangz n shiet

[@ashir555]

Maybe one day Zambia will get there, maybe... In the end, space is the best place for dreamers and dreams.

[@sunilnayak5079]

We would love to see afronauts. From this we learn he was a man of noble intention but somewhat mysterious about his space ambition.

[@SoTOreo]

so you might like the movie G**, N**** from outer space? i dont recall it being a good movie but they were taking the piss out of someone for sure kinda like these guys