As a little girl, Katherine Bennell-Pegg used to look up at the night sky and wonder what it would be like to leave Earth behind.
Now, the trailblazing space engineer has been honoured for turning that childhood dream into a national inspiration, named 2026 Australian of the Year.
Bennell-Pegg made history in 2024 when she qualified to travel to space, becoming the first Australian to do so under the nation’s flag. While she’s yet to make the journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere, she says she’s ready when the opportunity comes.
“When I grew up I was mesmerised by the stars above me, but they felt very far away,” she told reporters in Canberra on Sunday, ahead of the award announcement. “Seven out of 10 Australian kids under 12 want to go to space. It’s pinch-me stuff to be in this position.”
Born in Sydney and raised on the city’s northern beaches, Bennell-Pegg studied aeronautical engineering and physics at the University of Sydney before heading to Europe to complete two master’s degrees. Her path then took an extraordinary turn in 2021, when she was invited to undertake astronaut training with the European Space Agency.
Three years later, she graduated from the program as the first Australian to do so, and the nation’s first-ever female astronaut.
Inspired by Australians Paul Scully-Power and Andy Thomas, who travelled to space as American citizens in previous decades, Bennell-Pegg says she hopes her journey helps create a clear pathway for future generations.
“There’s never been a path for Australian astronauts before,” she said. “So I hope that what I’m doing is opening that door further for more to follow.”
Now 41, Bennell-Pegg calls Adelaide home, where she volunteers with the West Beach Surf Life Saving Club and, since December 2024, serves as an Air Force reservist.
She takes over the Australian of the Year title from AFL great Neale Daniher, honoured in 2025 for his tireless work raising more than $100 million for motor neurone disease research.
The awards night also celebrated achievements across the community. Ultra-marathon runner Nedd Brockmann claimed Young Australian of the Year after running from Perth to Sydney to raise funds for homelessness services. Senior Australian of the Year went to pioneering dementia researcher Henry Brodaty, while the Local Hero award was presented to Frank Mitchell, a Noongar man from Western Australia creating employment pathways for Indigenous people in construction and electrical trades.
Image: Sunrise
