Who is Carla S. Sharpe
Carla Sharpe is passionate about the development of space science and technology in Africa, towards positively impacting the lives of all Africans.
She has been with the South African Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project for over a decade, following 15 years of financial and operational management in other industries. The SKA is an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope, with eventually over a square kilometre of collecting area, and the sheer scale of the SKA represents a huge leap forward in engineering, technology and research & development.
In 2009 Carla founded the Foundation for Space Development Africa and in 2011, Women in Aerospace Africa. Her personal passion project was announced in 2014, Africa2Moon, a low cost solution to performing radio astronomy on the far side of the Moon. It has developed into a beacon project to highlight the potential and ability of developing nations.
Africa2Moon is a pioneering initiative to deploy Africa's first Moon mission - a lunar radio telescope, symbolising a leap for the continent in global space exploration. This project, led by the Foundation for Space Development Africa in collaboration with organisations such as SARAO and SANSA, aims to deploy a low-frequency radio telescope on the Moon. By combining cutting-edge science with educational outreach and capacity building, Africa2Moon seeks to inspire the next generation of African scientists, foster international collaboration, and demonstrate Africa’s potential in advanced engineering and scientific innovation.​ Africa2Moon consists of two missions. The first mission will deploy a Technology Demonstrator on the Moon made up of four antennas, the first radio astronomy array on the lunar surface, to be deployed in the Moon’s south pole region. The second mission will deploy 54 antennas on the far side of the Moon, one for each nation in Africa.
As a continent, Africa is yet to work on an inclusive, multi-national space program that enables Africa to highlight our potential and capabilities in science, technology, engineering and innovation. Carla is an adviser for OFF-WORLD.
​
Following the completion of a degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Cape Town, Carla graduated from the International Space University’s (ISU) first Executive MBA Programme in 2010, and has subsequently been nominated as a Governing Member of ISU. She has completed her PhD from UCT Spacelab. The topic of her research is a New Systemic Model for the Implementation of Sustainable Space Science and Technology Investment for Sub Saharan African Economies: An Implementation Process Derived from a Case Study of MeerKAT and the Square Kilometre Array Projects.
The SKA project in South Africa sits within the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, and it is here that Carla is responsible for planning, negotiating and implementing strategic and funding solutions for the Africa programme across the nine African Partner Countries (APCs).
She also provides legal and strategic input and support to SARAO and on the International SKA Observatory matters.
