Our Giant Leap: Meet the women behind SGAC – Middle East

Sahba El-Shawa is a Jordanian-Canadian space engineer originally from Palestine. She is the founder of the Jordan Space Research Initiative and holds several roles in the SGAC, including NPoC for Jordan, as well as co-lead of the Ethics & Human Rights project group and the Space for Climate Action policy working group. She is also a national lead in the Participation of Emerging Space Countries program of the Moon Village Association. Sahba holds a BASc in Mechanical Engineering, an MSc in Space Studies, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Sustainable Development and Climate Change. During her studies, she collaborated with the German Aerospace Centre on robotics research and completed an internship at the European Space Agency’s Clean Space initiative which focused on the environmental impacts of space activities, both on Earth and in space. Sahba is a vocal advocate for decoupling defense and space. She is committed to creating opportunities for underrepresented communities and helping guide the industry towards a more equitable, ethical, and sustainable future.

Hoda Awny El-Megharbel is an Engineer in the Satellite Communication and Navigation Department in the Egyptian Space Agency. She graduated from Kyushu Institute of Technology / Laboratory of Lean Satellite Enterprises and In-Orbit Experiments (LaSEINE) with a Master’s Degree as part of the United Nations/Japan Long-term Fellowship Programme Post-graduate study on Nano-Satellite Technologies (PNST) in 2020. She has a bachelor’s in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Misr International University, Egypt. She is currently Space Generation Advisory Council National Point of Contact in Egypt, Middle East Region and Moon Village Association National Coordinator, Egypt, North Africa.