Eight First Nations university students from across Australia will travel to the United States this year for a 10-week research placement at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California.
The placements are part of Monash University's National Indigenous Space Academy (NISA), founded in 2019 to build Indigenous participation in Australia's growing space sector.
Now in its eighth year, NISA has grown from a three-student pilot in 2019 to a program that has taken 29 First Nations students to world-class space research institutions in the US and UK.
In 2026, the program took out two Group Category awards at the Australian Space Awards: Indigenous Space Initiative of the Year and Diversity Initiative Program of the Year.
The program is a live demonstration of what structured, culturally embedded pathways can produce. It's also a reminder to educators of the role K–12 education plays in getting First Nations STEM students to that point.
What does this program mean for First Nations STEM students and Australian schools?
Careers in space, engineering and artificial intelligence are no longer out of reach for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. It also means that the aerospace industry is now investing in bright Indigenous talent to make that a reality.
Among this year's cohort is Jordan Roulstone, a proud Warumungu man from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) completing a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) (Honours) and Bachelor of Information Technology. Jordan has been named the inaugural Boeing NISA Scholar, with Boeing Australia fully funding his place in the program.
"I want to build a career that contributes to Australia's future in space and advanced engineering, but I also want to help create a future where more Indigenous young people can see themselves in STEM," Roulstone said. "QUT has supported me on that journey, and this scholarship is another step towards making that vision a reality."
The rest of the cohort draws students from universities across Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria:
- Tash Lee from Monash University
- Jamal Woods from QUT
- Jaimie Duffy from the University of New England
- Noah Davis from the University of Sydney
- Claire Weis from UNSW
- Alexander Cramp, also from UNSW
- Alaxandrea O'Brien from the University of Western Australia
O'Brien, a proud Dulgubarra-Mamu and Jirrbal woman, is the first student from a Western Australian university to be selected for NISA. She received the Andy Thomas Space Foundation Women's Leadership Scholarship for her place at JPL.
Before travelling to the US, all eight students will complete a Space Boot Camp at Monash University. Subjects covered include:
- aerodynamics
- robotics
- rover technology
- astrophysics
- planetary science
- engineering
- computer science
- earth sciences
They cohort will also tour Boeing Aerostructures Australia's Port Melbourne facility, which produces components for Boeing 737, 777 and 787 aircraft. At JPL, each student will be paired with a scientist or engineer mentor and assigned to active missions. Some of these projects are centred on ocean-exploration vehicles and the study of microorganisms aboard the International Space Station.
How schools can support First Nations STEM students
Schools can draw on CSIRO's Living STEM initiative, which connects national curriculum to Indigenous knowledges through hands-on, community-embedded projects. It's a practical starting point for principals and curriculum leaders looking to make STEM more accessible and relevant for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
Schools that embed Indigenous knowledges into the curriculum — rather than treating them as an add-on — give First Nations students reason to stay engaged with STEM. It starts with how seriously school leaders treat First Nations inclusion as a strategic priority, not a compliance exercise.
The ambition underpinning NISA — to produce Australia's first Indigenous astronaut — is bold by design. But it starts somewhere far more familiar: a classroom, a teacher, and a First Nations STEM student who is given every reason to believe the field is for them.