Australian Katherine Bennell-Pegg will head to Germany next month to train as an astronaut with the European Space Agency.
Katherine will be the first Australian woman to be trained as an astronaut by an international space agency, after recently being one of only 25 people to complete ESA’s astronaut selection process from a pool of 22,500 eligible applicants.
While on secondment to ESA, Katherine will remain an employee of the Australian Space Agency. When she completes her intensive training in May 2024, Katherine will receive basic training certification, a prerequisite for assignment to missions to the International Space Station.
It’s been a big week for Katherine, with this announcement following on from the news earlier this week that she was crowned ‘2023 SA Woman of the Year’.
With Katherine’s training, we look forward to strengthening our long and prosperous relationship with Europe, particularly in scientific endeavours related to space.
Reposted news from the Australian Space Agency.
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