After failing to secure $2 billion in funding from foreign governments, he launched his own makeshift space program using limited resources. Nkoloso recruited teenagers, whom he dubbed “Afronauts”, and trained them by rolling down hills in oil drums and swinging on ropes to simulate weightlessness.

Seventeen-year-old Matha Mwamba was set to travel with two cats and a missionary to build a church on Mars and spread Christianity—but only if the Martians were willing to listen. The dream ended when Matha became pregnant, and the remaining Afronauts quit after the U.S. reached the Moon.

1. What were the astronauts called?
2. How did they simulate weightlessness?
3. Who was Matha going to travel with?

1. Would you like to travel into space?
2. Is space exploration important?
3. What’s your favorite space-themed movie?
4. When was the last time you rolled down a hill or played on a swing?