A woman from Wollongong in NSW's Illawarra region has become Australia's first female astronaut after the European Space Agency selected her as one of its first new recruits in 13 years.
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Dr Meganne Christian is one of 17 of astronaut candidates and was chosen from a pool of over 22,500 applicants from the ESA's member states.
"It's crazy, just amazing to have this opportunity," the 34-year-old told ACM's Illawarra Mercury.
Her selection follows a long, rigorous and highly competitive process which began when she first applied last May.
Dr Christian made it through the first round to become one of about 1400 people who had to undergo psychometric testing - things like maths, spatial reasoning, logic and memory.
Then came psychological testing and a week of medical testing, followed by a panel interview and, lastly, an interview with the director general and the director of human and robotic exploration.
"I was never confident that I was going to get through the next phase," Dr Christian said.
"So every time I was really excited just to be there again, and get the acceptance to the next round."
Dr Christian is among 11 reserve astronauts who, while successful the entire selection process and qualified to be astronauts, cannot be recruited at this point for a space flight.
Astronauts in the reserve will stay with their current employers and will begin basic training in case a flight opportunity arises.
Dr Christian lives in Bologna, where she is a researcher at the National Research Council of Italy, working on a material called graphene.
She joined the organisation as a postdoctoral researcher after completing a Bachelor of Engineering in industrial chemistry and then her PhD at the University of NSW.
The idea of pursuing a career in space was sparked when she spent a year in Antarctica as the scientist in charge of atmospheric physics and meteorology at a French-Italian research base.
"The Concordia station, which is where I was, is also known as white Mars... because it's the closest thing that we have on Earth to a kind of analogue of what Mars might be," Dr Christian said.
The ESA sends doctors to conduct tests on those who winter-over in Antarctica to see how they're faring, as having a small group of people isolated together is similar to a space mission.
While there, Dr Christian was also taught to dock to the International Space Station with the Russian Soyuz capsule, using a simulator.
She said these experiences in Antarctica inspired her to consider space, as did the research she was conducting there and how she looked after observatories on behalf of other scientists who could not check them themselves, similar to what happens on the International Space Station.
"So I thought, 'Okay, I can do this. I really love doing this'," Dr Christian said.
But her interest in space dated back to her childhood in Wollongong, the city to which she and her family moved from the United Kingdom when she was aged five.
"I just I was fascinated by black holes, and basically everything about space," she said of her primary school years.
She remembers an astronaut visiting her school - The Illawarra Grammar School - and how that "put the stars in my eyes".
As a school student, Dr Christian also went to the US on a Future Problem Solving Program International competition, where she visited the Kennedy Space Centre and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
"I've always thought that astronaut was the coolest job in the world, but as an Australian without an actual human spaceflight program - and if we didn't even have an Australian space agency at the time, that's certainly very new - I didn't think it was it was something that was possible for me," she said.
"So it wasn't really on my radar until until I moved to Europe and until I had this experience in Antarctica."
She also credits having "wonderful opportunities" at school with putting her on this path, such as the Future Problem Solving Program, and her hobbies, including martial arts, with instilling a sense of discipline.
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As a reserve astronaut for the ESA, Dr Christian will also serve as an ambassador for the organisation.
"I feel very privileged to be part of a class of astronauts that is nearly half women," she said.
"I think inspiring young girls is really important, inspiring girls and young women to get involved in STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] in particular."
She would also like to build relationships so that in future, Australia can possibly have its own human spaceflight program.
"And of course, I'm extremely hopeful that one day I'll get a mission," Dr Christian said.
Enrico Palermo, the head of the Australian Space Agency, said Dr Christian's achievement held immense potential to inspire young Australians.
"We often refer to space as the gateway to STEM because of its ability to ignite curiosity - and what does that more than knowing someone who grew up right here in Australia might one day end up in space," Dr Palermo said.
Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
