President Hage Geingob has hailed the outstanding contributions Dr Japie van Zyl made to North American Space Association (NASA) and science at large. The Namibian-born international scientist has died after suffering a heart attack. The former North American Space Association (NASA) engineer was jogging when he collapsed in Pasadena California in the United States of America, where he lived, on Monday. He was 63 years old. In his message of condolence, Geingob said the death of Van Zyl has robbed Namibia of an outstanding scientist whose contributions in space research advanced the understanding of the universe. Dr Van Zyl made his work at NASA accessible to young Namibians who dared to dream through exchanges with him. President Geingob said that his exchanges with the late scientist were pleasant and Namibians will remember him as one of them whose sheer determination and quest for excellence in research helped him become a top engineer at NASA.