This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe sits down with Ilia-Daniel Gashinbaki — a 17-year-old Nigerian space visionary and the Executive Director and Founder of the Africa Space Foundation.

Daniel’s story started when he was just 11 years old, chosen by Nigeria’s National Space Research and Development Agency as one of the nation’s Space Ambassadors. That experience sparked a lifelong mission: to bring space science and education to communities across Africa and ensure that the continent plays an active role in humanity’s future beyond Earth.

Now, as the head of the Africa Space Foundation, Daniel is leading programs that connect young people with science and technology, host hack-a-thons, and promote collaboration within and beyond Africa. His work is a reminder that leadership isn’t about age — it’s about vision.

In this episode, Joe and Daniel talk about what to do with the privilege you have, the power of cooperation over competition, and how African innovation can help shape Mars exploration. They also dive into solar rovers, budget realities, community pride, and why Daniel sees bringing space to Africans not as a dream — but as a responsibility.

A huge thank you to Daniel for joining me today and sharing his energy and perspective, to Nick Thorburn for our stellar theme music, to Ceci Giglio for the beautiful graphics, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the FB group, and to my family for always supporting this mission — even when I start calling parts of Africa ‘mini Mars.’