Clock ticking on funding to launch Australian of the Year to space

The countdown is on for the federal government to decide if it will accept an European Space Agency (ESA) offer to send Australian of the Year Katherine Bennell-Pegg to the International Space Station.

The ABC understands a decision to respond to the offer is expected within 24 hours.

The offer remains dependent on financial support, which is widely reported to be $100 million for a mission seat to the International Space Station.

The federal government asked states to contribute to the bill, and around $25 million have been raised in commitment through a combination of private philanthropy, corporate donations and state government funding. 

South Australia is the only state to have publicly committed so far, with its premier Peter Malinauskas last week telling the ABC the state's funding was a "pretty modest sum". 

If the offer is accepted, Ms Bennell-Pegg, who completed an initial training with ESA in 2024, will undertake more than a year of mission training in Germany and the United States.

Hope to inspire next generation

Ms Bennell-Pegg would not be the first Australian, nor the first Australian woman, to reach the final frontier. 

Paul Scully-Power gained US citizenship to fly with NASA in 1984, while Elaine Hyde flew on Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin human spaceflight mission in 2025. 

But Ms Bennell-Pegg would be the first to have the Australian flag stitched to her spacesuit as she undertakes her first space flight – an expensive endeavour, but one that advocates hope will inspire the next generation.

"To have a high profile, inspiring individual demonstrating excellence in science and technology encourages young people to consider that [space] as a career," said Professor Alan Duffy, an astronomer at Swinburne University of Technology.

"The commitment of the US as part of its mission to the moon inspired a generation of scientists and engineers, many of whom never ended up in the space sector, but they encouraged a huge boon in advanced industries.

"That is something that Australia is desperately in need of."

The sector also sees a Bennell-Pegg space ticket as one that will help them access lucrative contracts.

Riss Weise, deputy director of the WA-based International Space Centre who is spearheading the campaign to send Ms Bennell-Pegg to space, said the initiative could give access to a global space sector worth “trillions of dollars over the next few years”. 

"An astronaut is the key to unlocking a lot of mechanisms for bringing back contracts, bringing back IP, opening up those relationships for Australia," Ms Weise said..

She said the international space community was watching Australia’s decision, particularly following the cancellation of the $1.2 billion NSMEO earth observation satellite program in 2023. 

"That was a signal to the world that said, ‘Australia’s not taking the space sector seriously’,” Ms Weise said.

“We’ve had the same conversations with researchers and with international partners: if your government’s not backing space, why would we back space?”

A question of long-term gain against short-term pain

While it is how much other states are willing to contribute, the federal government will likely weigh its decision against the nation's short-term financial challenges. 

"I think space exploration is incredibly important, but … when you’ve had sixteen interest rate rises, the highest interest rates in 15 years, businesses are going broke, mum and dad can’t pay their power bills, can we actually start looking at how we can put in place policies that will get Australia back on track?" Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Michaelia Cash told Channel 7 today.

Professor Duffy says the immediate price tag was hard to ignore, but hoped the federal government would take a longer view.

"It is a challenge in a cost of living crisis and I think we have to be cognizant of that,” he said. 

"The only way we get out of a cost of living crisis in the medium term is to raise our national productivity – that means more technology, being able to do more with less. And that requires a lot of investment."

ABC News reached out the federal government for a response.