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 several years. 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 both engineering, technology and research & development.
In 2009 Carla founded the Foundation for Space Development 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, in particular the African community, and to inspire Africa to “Reach for the Moon” by reaching for the Moon!
This is a public participation project that aims to place a low frequency radio telescope array on the far side of the moon’s surface. The telescope is made up of 54 self-inflating radio astronomy balls, each representing a nation in Africa. A nano satellite constellation will transfer the radio astronomy data to Earth, where it will provide scientific insight and importantly first time science. On Earth, radio waves under 10 MHz are reflected away by the ionosphere so we are unable to see the universe in these low frequencies.
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 is currently applying the finishing touches to her research in order to obtain her PhD from UCT Spacelab. The topic of her research is to identify and model the determinants, and impacts, of sustainable public funding into space science and technology, in lesser developed economies. In other words, to reliably determine the socioeconomic benefits to be gained from public investment into space science and technology programmes, and the sustainable level and nature of investments that would optimise these benefits.
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), inclusive of the African VLBI Network (AVN) programme and associated activities.
She also provides legal and strategic input and support to the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) and to the International SKA Observatory matters.
