Helena van Mierlo has more than 28 years of experience in the space sector, with the majority of her time spent in Earth Observation and some years in robotics and payload management as part of the International Space Station Program. She spent seven years of her career in The Netherlands, holding positions at the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) and the European Space Agency.

During her time at the Canadian Space Agency, Helena transitioned from a technical role, into a programmatic role in which she investigated the need for new Canadian satellite missions such as QEYSSat and WildFireSat, and built the necessary collaborations and strategic cases to obtain federal funding to develop those missions. She spent the last few years as Sun-Earth System Sciences Program Manager and recently changed to the role of acting Director of the EO Utilization and Services Directorate.

Over the length of her career Helena participated in 25+ space projects, with leadership functions in more than half of these. As part of these projects she collaborated with government, industry and academic organizations in more than 12 countries.
Helena holds a Masters of Science degree in aerospace engineering from Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands, and is a 1997 alumna of the International Space University (ISU). She has three children aged 13, 18 and 22.