One lucky uni student is following her dreams into orbit as she edges closer to becoming one of Australia’s elite scientist astronauts.
Celene Meraz Benavente, a third-year physiotherapy student at Federation University Australia, has already got her bags packed ahead of her trip to Ottawa, Canada next month where she will live out a week in the life of an astronaut in training.
But unlike her friends on home soil, this space-bound scientist won’t be sitting her tests in the classroom. Instead, she will be conducting her experiments strapped into a specialised low-orbit airplane as she gets a taste of zero-g life amongst the stars.
“It still doesn’t feel real,” she told EducationDaily.
Putting prospective astronauts through space-like paces
Run by the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences and Project PoSSUM (Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere), the Scientist Astronaut Qualification Program is designed to put prospective astronauts through their paces, preparing them for the wonders (and dangers) that lay outside of the earth’s atmosphere.
Ranging from on-ground experiments to extreme environmental training, the exclusive program handpicked seven lucky students last year to put through the wringer, allowing each applicant to take their careers out amongst the stars with a shot at joining NASA down the line.
As the only Aussie to be picked for the program, Meraz Benavente was flown out to the facility in Florida with her peers and given a taste of the gruelling training needed to traverse the great unknown.
Ranging from a five-second stint in microgravity to a “confronting” scenario with hypoxia training, Meraz Benavente says it was a rewarding and eye-opening experience.
“The spaces were pressurised, so we were able to do extensive testing, walking around and letting us experience a different perspective,” she told EducationDaily.
“We actually also listened to recordings of astronauts who were slowly beginning to realise they were losing oxygen, and that was very confronting. But it was certainly a very necessary part of it.”
“That was quite impactful, hearing a live situation where there is no oxygen and as a student trying to become aware of how to navigate that sort of panic in the case of an emergency. This training is the first step to begin research and receive a suborbital mission in the future.”
Fast forward a year, and Meraz Benavente says she’s ready to dial her training up to eleven as she prepares to take flight in simulated low-gravity training.
“The three-to-five seconds of microgravity was just phenomenal, so I’m excited to see how I adapt to this environment for much longer,” she says.
“Through the parabolic flight, we are not only training our body to adapt to the environment – we’re also conducting experiments. I am especially interested in testing how balance is affected after this period of microgravity as we know that it happens to astronauts after suborbital missions.”
Edging closer to an out-of-this-world dream
While in Canada, Meraz Benavente will also have the opportunity to connect with three astronaut researchers preparing for their next suborbital mission in 2026 in the hopes of one day joining them on board their mission.
“I am just very thankful to be a part of the incredible training opportunity with individuals who are training to go to space,” she says.
“The reason I’m here is reaching out to others and getting support from those who have actually done it and have advice for how to get there. Having that guidance has been incredible.”
In the meantime, she says she will continue to balance her dreams of travelling among the stars with completing her physiotherapy training back on the ground.
Meraz Benavente credits Federation University with being “Incredibly supportive” of her involvement in Project PoSSUM, and handing her all the tools she needs to finish up her degree around her parabolic flight research.
“I wouldn’t have had a shot if I didn’t have the university backing me with the type of education they provide,” she told EducationDaily.
“(Federation University Vice-Chancellor) Professor Duncan Bently is my biggest supporter and has always been there, giving me the ability to really shoot for the stars.”
Professor Bently says the university was very excited for Meraz Beavente as she embarks on the next phase of her astronaut training.
“We are incredibly proud of all that Celene has achieved so far and look forward to watching her take the next step in realising her dream of becoming an astronaut,” he says.
With several future visits to the moon and beyond on the table for astronauts in the coming years, Meraz Benavente says anyone looking to take their career in physiotherapy to new heights should absolutely look towards the growing space travel sector.
“I think we’re at a point in time where we have this incredible opportunity to grow and improve on what we know about our bodies in space. We’re looking at travelling back to the moon in the near future and sticking around for at least seven days, so we’ll need to learn how to adapt to this environment and what changes are occurring up there,” she told EducationDaily.
“Knowing how our bodies are operating out amongst the stars for longer periods of time are set to become a big part of the space industry in the coming years and will absolutely be a vital part of space travel going forward.”