These women are shaping the future of African space exploration

Operated by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), the data is coming from the MeerKAT array — one of the most advanced radio telescopes in the world. Comprised of 64 connected satellite dishes in a remote part of the Northern Cape, the $330 million telescope has put South Africa on the astronomy map. It’s also a key component of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), an international effort that will see thousands of dishes built in remote regions of South Africa and Australia.

While an African-born astronaut has yet to launch to space, programs across the continent are on the rise, especially in the fields of satellites and telescopes. Consulting group Space in Africa values space programs on the continent in excess of $7 billion, while countries including Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda have established or expanded their space agencies in the last 20 years.

Several of those programs include women in leadership roles. In celebration of International Women’s Day, meet three inspiring female pioneers shaping the future of space exploration across Africa and beyond.

Jessie Ndaba, space engineer

Space “was and is a calling,” Ndaba says, noting that her fascination began with a photo of a rocket engine in a textbook gifted by her grandmother, who raised her in Johannesburg.

Having experienced the industry’s evolution over the last 15 years, she says the key to success in the sector is collaboration — and helping people on Earth. “We are all for partnering with other countries in Africa or outside Africa,” Ndaba says, “as long as we are working toward improving people’s lives.”

But she says sometimes that message gets lost, pointing to the common criticism that space endeavors are expensive and that governments like South Africa’s should be investing in improving the lives of its citizens.

“There’s a number of benefits that we get from what we do, but we fail to communicate it to people,” Ndaba says, adding that satellite imagery can be used to assess land quality for farming or housing construction.

“We’re always looking at the challenges that people are facing, and we look for the solution.”

Adriana Marais, physicist and explorer

Adriana Marais has set her sights on Mars — and it’s a mission she’s been planning for as long as she can remember.

“If I had to choose a particular outcome for my life, spending my last days on Mars would be it,” Marais says.

“We will have teams arriving, setting up infrastructure from scratch, and living and doing research in those extreme locations for duration of the experiment,” says Marais.

In December 2019, she traveled to Antarctica to begin setting up a community where selected participants will spend nine months in complete isolation. The project is now on hold because of the pandemic but Marais says Antarctica will be an ideal testing ground.