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Two students laugh as they look up at the Sun through eclipse glasses
Schoolchildren laugh around a boy holding up a microphone at an outreach day
A schoolgirl holds up her chalk drawing of the Sun
An Astrobus volunteer shows a crowd of children how lenses bend light
Students launch a water rocket they built, in a burst of spray
A member sets up a telescope as a student waits for her turn
Members of the Society wave and cheer together

Ethiopia shall become a scientific society.

The Ethiopian Space Science Society brings astronomy and space science to classrooms, city squares and observatories across the country — and builds the community the country's future in space will depend on.

Become a member Who we are
founded
2004
members
20,000+
branches
33
institutions
68

Our partners

Collaborating globally to make science accessible in Ethiopia.

  • African Astronomical Society
  • Cross U
  • Space Science and Geospatial Institute
  • Entoto Observatory
  • International Astronomical Union
  • IAU Office of Astronomy for Development
  • East Africa Regional Office of Astronomy for Development
  • IAU Office of Astronomy for Education
  • IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach
  • IAU Office for Young Astronomers
  • IAU Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky
  • Ministry of Innovation and Technology
  • Space Generation Advisory Council
  • DarkSky International
  • Astronomy for Equity
  • Network for Astronomy School Education
  • Las Cumbres Observatory
  • Shadow the Scientists
  • Pan African Citizen Science e-Lab
  • African Science Stars
  • World Organization for Sustainability Leadership
Meet our partners →

Vision, mission and strategies

Vision

To make Ethiopia a scientific society, with a strong scientific culture that reaps the benefits of space science and technology.

Mission

Develop space professionals, build the institutions that train them and conduct research, and grow awareness and skill across the country.

Strategies

Grow the field's people and institutions first, and link the public and private sectors so they work toward the vision together.

Read them in full →

Universities, banks, schools and companies supporting space science across Ethiopia.

Institutional Members

See more institutional members →
Branches

Find your branch.

33 branch associations in 9 regions run their own stargazing, school clubs, lectures and outreach — each led by members in its own city.

All 33 branches
Map: OCHA / HDX Ethiopia COD-AB v04 (2025), CC BY-IGO 3.0. Display geometry simplified and projected; source areas ET01 and ET99 merged as Tigray at ESSS request. https://data.humdata.org/dataset/cod-ab-eth Tigray Afar Amhara Oromia Somali Benishangul-Gumuz Central Ethiopia South Ethiopia South West Ethiopia Gambela Harari Addis Ababa Dire Dawa Sidama Adama — Oromia Adigrat — Tigray Arba Minch — South Ethiopia Bahir Dar — Amhara Biftu Begi — Oromia Bole — Addis Ababa Bonga — South West Ethiopia Bule Hora — Oromia Debark — Amhara Debre Birhan — Amhara Debre Markos — Amhara Debre Tabor — Amhara Dembi Dolo — Oromia Dilla — South Ethiopia Gondar — Amhara Haramaya — Oromia Hawassa — Sidama Jigjiga — Somali Jimma — Oromia Kotebe — Addis Ababa Lalibela — Amhara Meda Welabu — Oromia Mekelle — Tigray Metu — Oromia Mizan Teferi — South West Ethiopia Selale — Oromia Tepi — South West Ethiopia Welkite — Central Ethiopia Werabe — Central Ethiopia Wolaita Sodo — South Ethiopia Woldiya — Amhara Wollega — Oromia Wollo — Amhara

Get involved

Six ways into the Society — whoever you are, wherever in Ethiopia you live.

Individuals

Become a member

Join 20,000 members for events, training, working groups and the Society's resources.

Join ESSS Near you

Join your branch

Observations, school clubs and outreach, run by members in your own city.

Find a branch Students

Train with us

Summer Space Training, the Research Programme and internships for students and early-career Ethiopians.

See programmes Schools

Start a space club

Join more than 100 space school clubs bringing astronomy into classrooms.

Explore school clubs Institutions

Partner with the Society

Universities, banks, schools and companies back the work as institutional members.

Our members Everyone

Support the work

Every Space Merch order goes toward the Society's programmes.

Shop merch

Programmes & events

Training for students and teachers, lectures and stargazing for the public, research and citizen science for the curious, and Ethiopia's part in the world's space days — 13 programmes in all. Pick one to learn more.

All programmes →

Projects

Observatories and a bus full of telescopes: what the Society builds.

All projects →

Ethiopia's story in space

From the first observatory in Addis Ababa in 1957 to today: the Society's milestones, alongside the country's.

  1. 1957

    An observatory in Addis Ababa

    Addis Ababa University's Geophysical Observatory opens, its dome housing a 4-inch refractor used to watch the Sun.

    National
  2. 1959

    Chasing eclipses

    Expeditions observe the solar eclipses of 1959 and 1961; for one, an Ethiopian Airlines plane flies a team through the centre of the eclipse track.

    National
  3. 1960

    Sunspots for the world

    From 1960 to 1971 Fr. Emil Cambron charts sunspots at the observatory and mails them to Zurich, where they join the world's sunspot record.

    National
  4. 1966

    Tracking satellites

    The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observing Station at Debre Zeit begins tracking satellites to study the Earth's gravity; laser ranging with France's CNES follows in the early 1970s.

    National
  5. 1973

    The Sun and the drought

    During the drought, the observatory's staff find a link between Ethiopia's droughts and the solar cycle.

    National
  6. 1985

    Variable stars

    Astronomers from Moscow's Sternberg Observatory use the telescope to study variable stars from Addis Ababa's latitude.

    National
  7. 1986

    Halley's Comet

    The observatory's dome is the hub for Halley's Comet, photographed there by the amateur astronomer Armando Phillipini.

    National
  8. 2002

    A first astronomy syllabus

    A new astronomy and astrophysics syllabus goes to Addis Ababa University's Science Faculty, as Ethiopian academics train at the South African Astronomical Observatory.

    National
  9. 2004

    The Society is founded

    47 founding members establish ESSS as a non-profit for astronomy, astrophysics, space science and technology.

  10. 2012

    Entoto Observatory and Research Center

    ESSS establishes the Entoto Observatory and Research Center, later transferred to the Ministry of Science and Technology — now the Ministry of Innovation.

  11. 2016

    A national space institute

    On 14 October the Council of Ministers approves the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute and Council.

    National
  12. 2017

    Astrobus takes to the road

    The first Astrobus tour carries scientists, artists and telescopes to towns south of Addis Ababa.

  13. 2018

    Lectures, training and young ambassadors

    The Summer Public Lecture Series, Summer Space Training, International Observe the Moon Night and the Youth Space Ambassador award all begin.

  14. 2018

    A national space policy

    On 22 December the Council of Ministers approves Ethiopia's national space policy, guiding the peaceful use of outer space to tackle the country's socio-economic challenges.

    National
  15. 2019

    Ethiopia's first satellite

    ETRSS-1, an Earth observation satellite, is launched; its first images are released in February 2020.

    National
  16. 2021

    ESSTI and EGII become SSGI

    Proclamation No. 1263/2021 merges the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute and the Ethiopian Geospatial Information Institute into the Space Science and Geospatial Institute, set up in 2022.

    National
  17. 2022

    Training goes national

    Summer Space Training runs in Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar and Jimma, joined by the Space Practicals project.

  18. 2024

    20 years of journey in space

    The 20th General Assembly marks two decades, with a field day at the Entoto Observatory.

  19. 2025

    Hewa+ launches

    ESSS launches Hewa+, a first-of-its-kind space science platform for Ethiopia: news, explainers and a podcast, in English and Amharic.

  20. 2026

    A Youth Wing, and new partners

    The Youth Wing launches in April, and the Society signs agreements with Cross U of Japan and, in July, the African Astronomical Society.

The Society Ethiopia — the country's space story, not ESSS's own

Hewa+

Latest from Hewa+

Space news, explainers and stories from the Society's own publication.

More from Hewa+ →
Cosmos Scientists found a new dwarf planet candidate in our solar system. Seada Maru · Oct 31, 2026 · 3 min read
Launch

Martian Moons Exploration (MMX), world's first mission liftoff!

Oct 20, 2026 · 4 min read

Astronomy

The Expanding Universe and the Limits of What We Can See

Oct 14, 2026 · 9 min read

Astronomy

Are Scientists on the Brink of Unraveling Dark Matter?

Sep 16, 2026 · 6 min read

Astronomy

Probing the Universe with gravitational waves

Aug 27, 2026 · 9 min read

Shop

Space Merch

Stickers, mugs and gear from the Society's own store. Every order goes toward its programmes.

Visit the store →

Volunteer at ESSS.

Much of what the Society does is run by volunteers — the stargazing nights, the lectures, the training weeks and the General Assembly. Bring a skill, or just bring the time.

Volunteer with us
ESSS members and volunteers