NASA's Mars program has Namibian links as Dr. Japie van Zyl hails from the small town of Opuwo in the Kunene region.

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Namibian born Dr japie van Zyl played a vital role in the American space Agency NASA's Mars project. No wonder as the surface of the red planet is quite similar to our own desert, and by the looks of it, it seems that the Namib's red dunes could be just as well on planet Mars. But to get to Mars cost NASA more than two billion dollars. Dr van Zyl was as recent as this weekend in Windhoek and spoke to the news on One.