Every July 25, the\u00a0International Day of Women and Girls of African Descent\u00a0invites the world to celebrate our contributions, and to confront the systems that still limit whose ideas are funded and whose voices shape the future.<\/p>\n
The space sector offers a clear example. For too long, conversations about Africa and aerospace have begun with what the continent supposedly lacks, while African women have been imagined as spectators or beneficiaries instead of astronauts and engineers.<\/p>\n
My decision to pursue space infrastructure is a deliberate choice to help ensure that African women have a meaningful role in designing humanity\u2019s next frontier. The people who build launch sites, spacecraft interfaces, logistics networks and safety systems will influence who can participate in the space economy for generations.<\/p>\n
My journey began in Nairobi, Kenya, with a young child\u2019s question: \u201cWhy is the moon following me?\u201d Then other questions kept coming, like \u201cWhy are the moon and sun circular?\u201d and \u201cWhat are all those twinkling lights?\u201d<\/p>\n
I was always drawn to the impossible, the unknown and the seemingly unobtainable, and space became the ultimate canvas for my curiosity. In 2011, that curiosity became a mission when I watched the final space shuttle launch live in Florida. Surrounded by launch infrastructure, I asked another question that never left me: \u201cWhy don\u2019t we have this in Africa?\u201d<\/p>\n