Adriana Marais

Adriana Marais
Adriana Marais
Born	1983; South Africa
Occupation(s)	Theoretical physicist, technologist, space exploration advocate
Known for	Foundation for Space Development Africa, Proudly Human, Africa2Moon Project

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Adriana Marais, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 10 August 2025

Adriana Marais is a South African theoretical physicist, technologist, and proponent of extraterrestrial exploration. She holds a directorial position at the Foundation for Space Development Africa, which is dedicated to initiating Africa’s inaugural lunar mission known as the Africa2Moon Project. Marais also established Proudly Human, an initiative that encompasses the Off-World Project—conducting habitation trials within some of Earth's most extreme environments.

Her contributions to quantum biology and the study of life’s origins have been recognized with multiple accolades, including the 2015 L'Oreal-UNESCO International Rising Talent Award. In 2020, she was selected as one of five global finalists for Women in Tech’s Most Disruptive Woman in Tech Award.

Education and career

Marais obtained a BSc Hons with first-class honors in theoretical physics from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2004. She then achieved an MSc summa cum laude in quantum cryptography at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in 2010. Her PhD, completed in 2015 at UKZN, focused on quantum biology, specifically examining quantum phenomena in photosynthesis. Following this, she pursued postdoctoral research on the emergence of prebiotic molecules and the origins of life. In 2019, she embarked on a PhD in economics at UCT, concentrating on economic frameworks suited for resource-limited settings.

Between 2007 and 2013, Marais served as a lecturer at UKZN and was a visiting researcher at the Centre for Quantum Technologies, Singapore during 2011–2012. From 2017 to 2019, she held the position of Head of Innovation at SAP Africa and joined the faculty of Singularity University in 2018. In 2019, she founded Proudly Human, an organization focused on creating infrastructure and assembling teams capable of operating in extreme environments on Earth as well as lunar and Martian settings.

Additionally, she participates in a South African governmental advisory task team addressing the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), concentrating on the convergence of hardware, software, and biological systems to improve communication and connectivity.

Proudly Human

Proudly Human’s Off-World Project is designed to demonstrate human adaptability and sustainability by constructing communities and off-grid infrastructure within harsh environments such as deserts, Antarctica, and underwater locations. These multi-month habitation experiments foster innovation and research applicable to space colonization efforts as well as terrestrial challenges. The initiative also produces a documentary series to document its progress.

In 2019, Marais undertook site evaluations in Antarctica and Oman. The global recruitment for crew members for the Off-World Project commenced on 1 February 2021.

Foundation for Space Development

Marais began coordinating special initiatives for the Foundation for Space Development in 2016 before becoming co-director in 2017 alongside Carla Sharpe and Khutšo Ngoasheng. The Foundation’s mission includes launching Africa’s first lunar mission through the Africa2Moon Project while advancing programs related to asteroid mining, disaster management using geo-magnetic solar climate models, and employing big data within space science. It supports STEM education and technological innovation across fields such as space exploration, AI, robotics, and open-source communication technologies with the goal of inspiring youth throughout developing countries.

Mars One

In 2013, Marais volunteered to participate in the Mars One initiative, a private entity aiming to send one-way missions to create the inaugural human colony on Mars by 2026. She was selected as one of the top 100 astronaut hopefuls. Nevertheless, the project ceased operations in February 2019 when Mars One filed for bankruptcy.

Tod’Aérs Global Network [TGN]

In 2020, Marais took on the role of Chair for Space Sciences within Tod’Aérs Global Network (TGN), a public-private collaboration established by inventor Manuel Ntumba from Congo and Togo. She also holds positions as a member of the Governing Board and as Global Chair for Science and Research in the organization.

Membership and recognition

Marais has received several prestigious honors, such as:

Being among the five worldwide finalists for Women in Tech’s Most Disruptive Woman in Tech Award (2020)
The Meiring Naude Medal from the Royal Society of South Africa recognizing outstanding young researchers (2016)
Participation as an alumna in the 66th Lindau Nobel Laureate Physics meeting (2016)
The Rising Talent Award from the Global Women's Forum (2016)
The L'Oreal-UNESCO International Rising Talent Award (2015)
A Women in Science Fellowship Award from the Department of Science and Technology (2010)

Personal life

Marais completed the challenging Two Oceans 56km Ultramarathon in 2016. The following year, she reached Uhuru Peak atop Mount Kilimanjaro.

External links