• Online all-female panel discussion aims to inspire girls to pursue careers in space exploration

The webinar, ‘Taking You Higher’, is part of Charles Sturt University’s Explorations Series and will include an expert all-female panel featuring astronaut-to-be Ms Sally Tindall, former NASA rocket scientist Ms Shannon McConnell, and space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman.

The webinar is designed to inspire girls and women to explore the opportunities offered in space careers in the 21st century and will include a live panel discussion and Q&A session with the co-hosts.

Panellist Ms Tindall is currently shortlisted with AdvancingX to go to space in 2023 and she hopes to become one of Australia’s first female astronauts.

Ms McConnell, a reformed rocket scientist, world traveller and STEM Program consultant, has been introducing students to the excitement of space exploration since 1998. She has worked on mission planning and design for the Cassini Spacecraft, sequence design and execution for the Galileo Mission.

The third panellist, Dr Gorman, is an internationally recognised leader in the field of space archaeology and serves as a mentor in the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs Space4Women Mentor Network. She is an award-winning author and has conducted extensive research on the archaeology and heritage of space exploration, including space junk, planetary landing sites, off-earth mining, space habitats, rocket launch pads, and antennas.

The free event is open to members of the public, with school students and their parents and anyone with an interest in space or pursuing a space career encouraged to attend.

Join the panellists for the webinar on Thursday 24 September from 6pm to 7pm to find out more about the different space careers and how to pursue these careers.

To attend the ZOOM event, registrations must be made via the Eventbrite website. An email with event’s ZOOM access link will be emailed to registered attendees.

The lecture will be made available on the Charles Sturt community events webpage at a later date.