In recent days, the Australian government made an offer to the European Space Agency (ESA) to send Australia’s first astronaut on a mission to the International Space Station.
Katherine Bennell-Pegg is the first astronaut trained under the Australian flag. She completed her basic training with ESA in April 2024. She serves as director of space technology at the Australian Space Agency and was named the 2026 Australian of the Year.
We don’t know precisely how much Australia has offered ESA to put our own astronaut forward for a mission, but we assume it’s lower than the reported A$100+ million the agency originally asked for.
Some have questioned whether such a steep price tag is worth it for a “ticket to space.” But we must look at this more broadly.
Sending Bennell-Pegg to space is about far more than one Australian reaching orbit. It’s about opening doors to international partnerships, research and opportunities that can help shape Australia’s future. In short, we can get a lot in return for the money paid.
Why do we have to pay?
Why does Australia have to pay to send an astronaut to space? The simple answer is because we are not a member state of the ESA, NASA, or any other agency capable of sending humans to space and back.
Member states pay the ESA a mandatory annual contribution based on their GDP. The agency’s total budget is around €7.69 billion (A$12.2 billion), with two-thirds of that coming from the 23 member states.
The exact details of Australia’s counteroffer to the ESA are currently not public, but Science Minister Tim Ayres has said we were asked for a sum “well north of $100 million.” Essentially, it’s the cost of a seat on a space mission at market rate. But we can get much more in return.
More than a trip to space
Across the world, we see nations using their space programs — especially those where humans take part in space flight — to strengthen domestic industries and create highly skilled jobs while developing technologies that benefit people here on Earth.
A great example is when Canada invested over C$300 million (A$305 million) to develop specialized robotic arms, first for shuttle missions in the 1970s and later the International Space Station in 2001.
The latest robotic arm is still in operation and provides critical docking services to the station. But the research also led to robotic arm development for precision surgery in hospitals.
So what has Canada seen in return? The investment secured a permanent partnership in the International Space Station, enabling Canadian astronauts, like Chris Hadfield, to get access to space.
With that reputation, Canada became one of the world leaders in space robotics, easily earning back its original investment 100 times over.
The Canadian space tech company MDA Space has now been granted a contract valued at over US$1 billion (A$1.4 billion) to develop a new robotic arm for NASA’s Artemis program. That contribution also secured two Canadian astronaut flights, including the historic Artemis II crewed Moon mission earlier this year.
Would Australia actually reap the returns?
The ESA operates under a principle known as geographical return, which ensures that participating countries receive industrial contracts broadly proportional to their financial contributions to the agency’s programs.
In other words, investment in space is designed to flow back into domestic businesses, supporting local jobs, advanced manufacturing, research, and technological development.
This means a nation can use space exploration to build national industrial capability and economic opportunity — a sort of “space stimulus package.”
Australia has the opportunity to use its bid to the ESA as an investment in Australian-grown businesses, researchers and technologies that could benefit from our participation. They can then bring benefits to everyday Australians.
An opportunity for home-grown tech
Here’s just one example of how space research can benefit Australians on the ground.
For people living in rural and remote communities, accessing critical services, from maternal health care and emergency surgery to domestic violence support, can mean traveling hundreds of kilometers. Many of these communities are also highly exposed to natural disasters, which can sever vital transport and communication links.
Keeping astronauts healthy in space demands cutting-edge remote medicine, from portable diagnostic tools and AI-powered health monitoring to technologies that allow doctors to treat patients thousands of kilometers away.
These are the very challenges facing Australians in rural and remote communities. Human spaceflight opens doors to groundbreaking biomedical research, from testing new medical technologies to studying drug development in microgravity.
Through Australian human spaceflight participation, continued engagement with the ESA and stronger international partnerships, we can open new pathways for Australian researchers, universities and businesses to design, test and commercialize these innovations.
And it’s not just about the tech. More space technology demand and Earth-based spin-off companies mean many more jobs for Australia.
So can we expect an Australian flag in space?
For now, we await ESA’s reply. If the offer is accepted, a mission could happen as early as 2028, and Australia will likely look to leverage local expertise through Australian Space Agency-led programs or calls for proposals.
One astronaut flight buys Australia a valuable connection into one of the richest space ecosystems in the world. That means more economic opportunity for Australians, including our best and brightest who are often left with no choice but to work overseas.
So perhaps the question isn’t whether Australia can afford to invest in space. It’s whether we can afford not to.
Sara Webb, Associate Dean of Innovation and Engagement, Swinburne University of Technology and Rebecca Allen, Co-Director, Space Technology and Industry Institute, Swinburne University of Technology
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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