Dr Adriana Marais has spent her career exploring the origins of life and the possibilities of life beyond our planet, and in this week’s podcast, she shares how that journey has evolved into leading one of Africa’s most exciting space initiatives.
Johannesburg, South Africa (29 April 2026) – On this week’s “Good Things with Brent Lindeque“, we sit down with Dr Adriana Marais… and it’s a conversation that stretches far beyond borders, beyond limits and even beyond Earth itself.
Adriana is one of the most fascinating humans I have ever met. We first crossed paths years ago when we shared a stage together, chatting backstage before our keynotes. I went on first and then watched as she took to the stage… she left me completely in awe.
A woman. A South African. A human… who was willing (and selected) to leave Earth for Mars. Forever.
So much has changed since that moment. The Mars One Project may have come to an end but Adriana’s plans didn’t. If anything, she expanded her vision, taking everything she had learned and building something even bigger, something deeply rooted in African innovation and possibility.
With a background in theoretical physics and research that explores quantum effects in biology and the origins of life in space, Adriana has spent her career asking the questions most of us don’t even know how to begin to think about. Today, she is a researcher at Stellenbosch University and the National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences, an expert at Singularity University and the founder of Proudly Human… a venture focused on preparing humanity for life beyond our planet.
She is also helping lead something extraordinary. As Director at the Foundation for Space Development Africa and Head of Science for the Africa2Moon project, Adriana is part of the team driving Africa’s first mission to the Moon, set to land on the lunar surface in 2029. Read that again… Africa, on the Moon.
And as if that wasn’t enough, 2025 saw her book Out of this World and into the Next published globally, alongside major recognition including the Forbes Woman Africa Award for Academic Excellence and the Women in Tech Award for Most Disruptive Woman in Tech in Paris.
Our conversation is about her belief in possibility. Not just for herself but for all of us. For Africa. For the next generation of thinkers, dreamers and explorers who will take what feels impossible today and turn it into tomorrow’s reality.
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