Aarti Matthews

Aarti Matthews is the Starship Human Landing System Program Manager at SpaceX, where she oversees the development and certification of systems for lunar landing and exploration. Her work includes significant programs such as the Commercial Lunar Payload Services and dearMoon, which aim to facilitate human travel to the Moon and beyond. With over 10 years at SpaceX, Aarti has managed various missions including Dragon cargo resupply and human spaceflight missions to the International Space Station (ISS), notably overseeing the successful Demo-1 mission that demonstrated autonomous docking capabilities of the upgraded Dragon spacecraft.1

Before joining SpaceX, Aarti had a notable career at the European Space Agency, where she focused on human lunar mission architectures and robotic systems for space stations. She also collaborated with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, contributing to the development of the robotic arm for the Mars Curiosity rover and serving as the mechanical systems engineer for the Mars Science Laboratory's landing radar.1

Originally from the UK, Aarti holds a master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Imperial College London. Her professional journey has taken her across various countries, including The Netherlands, France, and Thailand. Currently based in Los Angeles, California, she enjoys exploring different cultures through travel, food, and dance with her family.1