Engineers are trained to see constraints as problems to be solved. In space, those constraints include radiation, isolation, distance, microgravity and extreme environments. Hear from Australian astronaut and 2026 Australian of the Year Katherine Bennell-Pegg on how these same challenges can be powerful opportunities for discovery, innovation and technological advancement.

Katherine will showcase how the unique conditions of space are a laboratory unlike any other. She will highlight how space-based experimentation is advancing fields including radiation science, advanced materials, biomedical engineering, automation, remote operations, quantum technologies, manufacturing and critical minerals processing. These insights are helping researchers and engineers better understand complex systems, develop new technologies and test ideas that would be difficult or impossible to explore on Earth.

For Australia’s engineering community, the implications are significant. As access to space-based research and manufacturing expands, engineers will play a critical role in translating discoveries into real-world products, infrastructure, services, and industries.