Owolabi Salis, a Nigerian-born lawyer and astronaut, has been officially recognised by Wikipedia as the first Nigerian to travel to space.

Following his historic journey on June 29, 2025, aboard the Blue Origin spacecraft NS-33, Salis reached an altitude of approximately 105 kilometres, crossing the Karman Line, the internationally-recognized boundary for space travel.

Salis, who was part of a six-member crew including Allie Kuehner, Carl Kuehner, Leland Larson, Freddie Rescigno Jr., and Jim Sitkin, described the experience as “spiritually rewarding.”

The mission, code-named NS-33, was undertaken under the auspices of Blue Origin, an aerospace company owned by Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos.

As the first Nigerian to venture into space, Salis has been listed as number 702 among the hierarchy of officially acknowledged space travellers since the annals of human existence.

The first Nigerian astronaut expressed gratitude for the recognition, noting that “our planet is approximately five billion years old and about 117 billion people have lived in it, out of which only about 720 have been to space.”

To commemorate Salis’s achievement, renowned sculptor Steve N. Barber plans to erect a monument in his honor.

The monument, expected to last 1,000 years, will feature inspirational citations and serve as a beacon of inspiration for Nigerians and Africans aspiring to explore space.

Barber hopes that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government, Jeff Bezos, or corporate organizations will support the initiative.

“The monument will serve as a beacon of inspiration expectedly hoped to fire the zeal of the Blacks and Nigerians in particular, including the succeeding generations towards a greater quest for space exploration and the limitless vista of possibilities latent in the revolutionary novel adventure in the annals of scientific voyage of exploration,” Barber said.

The monument is scheduled for completion on July 4, 2026, and will be unveiled on the United States’ Independence Day before being transported to Salis’s birthplace in Nigeria. (Nigerian Tribune)