Find your Space: Engineer, Scientist and ESA Astronaut Reserve Member

Find your space: Meganne Christian

Meganne Christian (born 1987) is a British engineer and scientist, and a member of the European Space Agency’s Astronaut Reserve.

She holds a First Class Honours degree and a PhD in Industrial Chemistry from the University of New South Wales. Her research focused on advanced materials for hydrogen storage, earning her several academic awards.

Meganne has worked internationally across academia, industry and government. She has twice wintered at Concordia research station in Antarctica, leading atmospheric physics and meteorology observatories in one of the most extreme environments on Earth. She has also contributed to space-related research through the European Graphene Flagship and taken part in parabolic flight campaigns testing materials for satellite applications.

In 2022, she was selected as a member of the European Space Agency Astronaut Reserve and began Astronaut Reserve Training at the European Astronaut Centre in 2025. She currently works as Exploration Commercialisation Lead at the UK Space Agency.

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"No matter what interest you have there will be something you can apply to find a career in and actually we found already that so many roles and jobs exist now that 20 years ago I wouldn't have thought would have existed. So even if there isn't a job that you can see yourself in now, potentially in the future that job may exist."

Quick fire questions

Do you get the opportunity to travel with your job?

What's your earliest school memory of Science?

What's the coolest event you've attended with your job?

Example questions for group discussion:

What kind of qualifications do you think you would need to become a Space Expert?

How can a Space Expert help people?

Do you have any space facts or information that you think people should know about?

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