The Australia Day awards in 2026 named Katherine Bennell-Pegg as Australian of the Year, recognising her as the first person to qualify as an astronaut under Australia’s space program.  She is a qualified professional astronaut and space engineer.

Katherine was born on 15 December 1984 and grew up on the northern beaches area of Sydney, NSW. She completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Aeronautical Space Engineering, and a Bachelor of Advanced Science majoring in physics at the University of Sydney, graduating in 2007. She then completed a Masters of Science in Astronautics and Space Engineering at Cranfield University in England, and a Masters of Science in Space Technology in Sweden, both in 2010.  She also completed the Space Studies Program at the International Space University (2009) at the NASA Ames Research Center in the USA.

Katherine graduated from Basic Astronaut Training in 2024 as part of a class of six trained by the European Astronaut Centre in Germany – the first international candidate to do so. She was selected for the program from a field of over 22,500 applicants.

Katherine made history as Australia’s first official astronaut and the first Australian woman to receive professional astronaut wings.

She is a director at the Australian Space Agency, a Group Captain in the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve, and a highly regarded space engineer. Her career has taken her around the world, contributing to human spaceflight, space exploration, space robotics, and Earth science missions – work that underpins the satellites, data and systems Australians rely on every day.

In April 2024, after graduating from the European Space Agency’s astronaut training program, she became eligible for missions to the International Space Station and future deep space missions.

Since returning to Australia, Katherine has focused on promoting Australia’s space capabilities internationally, while bringing back expertise, networks, and insights to strengthen the local sector. A key part of her role is also inspiring young Australians to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

In November 2025, Bennell-Pegg was named South Australian of the Year, a recognition that paved the way for her national honour.  Now that she’s eligible, we wonder when she’ll experience her first space journey.  We can’t wait to follow along!

Sources:

https://australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/katherine-bennell-pegg

https://www.spaceconnectonline.com.au/careers/6926-aussie-astronaut-named-2026-australian-of-the-year