SERA Opens Space Seat to Nigerians in Global Democratic Astronaut Selection

The Space Exploration & Research Agency (SERA) has launched a new astronaut selection initiative that allows Nigerians to compete for a seat on an upcoming Blue Origin spaceflight. The programme expands SERA’s community-based astronaut selection model to five countries: Nigeria, India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Thailand, alongside a global open seat.

The process will run through SERA Mission Control, a Telegram-based mini-app built on the TON Blockchain. Candidates complete challenges to earn “SpaceDust” points and secure community votes, with the blockchain infrastructure providing transparent, tamper-resistant verification.

SERA first tested this model in 2022, when Victor Hespanha was selected from its community to fly on Blue Origin’s New Shepard, becoming South America’s first civilian astronaut. The Nigerian seat provides a structured pathway for citizens outside conventional astronaut pipelines to represent their country in space.

“After the success of SERA’s inaugural space flight in 2022, we’re scaling democratic space access to five nations simultaneously, plus a global seat,” said Joshua Skurla, SERA co-founder. “It creates a pathway where anyone in Nigeria can compete for a seat based on community support.”

For Nigeria, the programme represents an extension of its space ambitions beyond satellite development, led by the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA). While past individual efforts include Chief Owolabi Salis’s privately funded Blue Origin ticket purchase and Dr Temidayo Oniosun’s symbolic Egusi mission project, SERA’s approach introduces the first community-selected civilian astronaut pathway.

“This partnership aligns with our vision of expanding Nigeria’s space presence beyond satellites to human spaceflight,” said Dr Matthew Olumide Adepoju, Director General of NASRDA. “SERA’s democratic approach ensures Nigerian representation reflects our diverse population’s aspirations.”

Learnspace Foundation facilitated the collaboration. Its President, Dr Anne Agi, noted: “We are building bridges between communities, institutions, and industry to ensure Nigeria’s journey to human spaceflight is not only historic but inclusive and connected to global exploration efforts.”

SERA’s Mission Control also integrates a Science Platform where communities can submit and vote on space experiments. This feature creates decentralised research opportunities and broadens participation in mission design.

“We’re opening space to people who never imagined it possible,” said Sam Hutchison, SERA co-founder. “A teacher in Abuja or a content creator in Lagos can now compete for Nigeria’s space seat through community engagement, not just academic credentials.”

SERA addresses the representation gap in space exploration. While around 800 people have travelled to space since 1961, none from Nigeria, India, Indonesia, Thailand, or most developing nations have flown as community-selected civilian astronauts despite representing billions of global citizens.

According to Max Crown, CEO of the TON Foundation, hosting the platform on TON demonstrates one of the most ambitious consumer applications of Web3 beyond finance. “By launching on TON within Telegram, SERA transforms space travel from a distant concept into an interactive, community-driven experience,” he said.

Six seats are reserved for the upcoming Blue Origin mission, with five allocated to partner nations and a sixth available globally. Applications are now open via SERA Mission Control on Telegram, with voting and selection timelines to be announced. Selected astronauts will undergo Blue Origin’s standard safety training before flight.

About SERA

The Space Exploration & Research Agency was founded to build a global community dedicated to space exploration and research. Its mission is to create a space agency for everyone.

About TON Foundation

The TON Foundation is a Swiss non-profit organisation that accelerates the growth of the TON Blockchain ecosystem by providing funding and support to developers, creators, and businesses through grants, technical resources, and strategic partnerships. While the Foundation advocates for TON’s mission, it does not control the decentralised, open-source, community-driven network.

About Blue Origin

We are building a road to space for the benefit of Earth, humanity’s blue origin. Our team is focused on radically reducing the cost of access to space and harnessing its vast resources while mobilising future generations to realise this mission. Blue Origin builds reusable rocket engines, launch vehicles, in-space systems, and lunar landers.