Carla Sharpe Mitchell
Carla Sharpe Mitchell is an economist currently living in South Africa and serving as the Africa Programme Manager for the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory that is driving Africa’s largest science undertaking, the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope. In 2009, she established the Foundation for Space Development Africa, where she is a director as well as the mission director for the Foundation's Africa2Moon science payload selected for launch to the Moon in 2029. She also founded the South African Space Association as well as Women in Aerospace Africa.
Education and career
Carla Mitchell was born in South Africa in 1974. Following the completion of a degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Cape Town, Carla graduated from the International Space University’s first Executive MBA Programme in 2010 and was awarded a PhD in Economics and Space Studies from the University of Cape Town in 2025.In 2009, she established the Foundation for Space Development Africa. The organisation is developing Africa's first space exploration mission and the world's first lunar radio astronomy array, the Africa2Moon Project, as well as driving projects spanning big data; supercomputing; climate modelling; and utilisation of space resources. The Foundation is dedicated to advancing Africa's role in the space sector, thereby inspiring the next generation of African scientists, engineers and innovators. On 24 April 2025, the Africa2Moon payload was selected for launch to the lunar south pole with China's Chang'e 8 mission scheduled for 2029.
Carla Mitchell has been with the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory for over a decade, from Business Development Manager at SKA South Africa in 2013, to her current position as the Africa Programme Manager, following 15 years of financial and operational management in other industries. Her work is now focused on developing space science and technology programmes in Africa that generate wider reaching societal benefits, as well as her contributions to the development of robust and inclusive space economic and legal policies.