Dr Katherine Bennell-Pegg

We're seeing a lot of changes in space through AI.

We're affected just like every industry.

For example, in how we design, in how we manage data on robots in real time as they navigate.

Space is also helping these industries.

For example, the huge masses of data generated from satellites in space, 99%.

of climate data by volume comes from satellites in space, that's feeding the AI models too.

When we're looking at data centres of the future, there's a whole series of businesses that are looking at data centres in space to get more power to manage them in a way that you don't have to manage it here on Earth.

Yeah, I think that the disruptions fade off each other and quantum technologies

is something that is important for Australia because if we can get to quantum encryption, which is not quantum computing but a different part of it, that goes hand in hand with our laser communications, which could let in time Australia have encrypted intercontinental communication via satellite.

We can't do that through optical fibres.

We can't make them pure enough for the long distances between Australia and other continents to have that encryption.

Which milestone stands out the most for me?

There are so many.

But one that I found particularly poignant was when we had...

25 years of continuous human presence in space.

So the International Space Station, that has had people living on it now for about 26 years, continuously without breaks.

Anyone younger than 26 has never been alive at a time where humans haven't been on that huge station doing a work up there.

And it passes over Australia, right?

So you can see it occasionally in the evening as a bright star that takes six minutes to go across.

I think the milestone of, you know, the voyages, spacecraft leaving our solar system now, that's absolutely miraculous to know that we've sent something so far and can still figure out ways to communicate with it after that long.