Dr Elise Stephenson is one of Binalong’s resident superstars.
An award-winning researcher and the deputy director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at the Australian National University (ANU), Dr Stephenson’s credentials stretch far and wide.
Dr Stephenson’s latest research piece – titled Space XX: Gender, Power and the New Space Race – explores race and gender within the space industry.
What had initially begun in 2017 has now been wrapped up neatly in a bow as Dr Stephenson prepares to launch her book into the world after completing almost 1000 interviews with pioneering women, men, trans and non-binary people, from astronauts to engineers and ethicists.
“It’s a huge project, and spent quite a few years on it,” says Dr Stephenson.
“I was in Adelaide at the world’s largest conference relating to space. Elon Musk was in town, and he was talking about colonising Mars, and the Australian government announced that Australia was going to get its very first Australian Space Agency.
“Those two things set me off on this path where I was questioning if we’re talking about colonising other planets, have we really learned from some of the mistakes of colonisation on Earth, firstly, and then secondly, with the announcement of the new Australian Space Agency, does this actually represent a moment in time where we get to do things differently, and where we can maybe embed gender equality and other forms of equality in an institution right from the start. Can we set ourselves off on a better trajectory?
“It [narrowed down to] that question of ‘are we doomed to repeat earthly inequalities in space, or can this be a moment for change.”
Among Dr Stephenson’s interviewees, Katherine Bennell-Pegg (Australia’s first female athlete) contributed to the research.
“Katherine is amazing and doing some fantastic work,” says Dr Stephenson.
“She was amongst a number of astronauts that I was able to speak with and, I think that they are ultimately envoys of humanity, they do a lot of kind of social good here on Earth, but also out in space, in terms of scientific discoveries and research and all of the rest.
“I think it’s a really important opportunity to reflect on the fact that we’re on the precipice of having Katherine as the first woman to enter orbit from Australia.
“But there’s obviously still more to be done.”
Since humans were first sent into space, only one in 10 astronauts are female, and Dr Stephenson says the number leaves a lot to be desired.
Dr Stephenson says her fascination with space comes down to humanity’s perspective of the ability to re-do.
“[Space] is often seen as the final frontier as a real opportunity, unlike any other, that we might have on Earth to do things differently,” she says.
“From my perspective, it really is this opportunity to see if we have to bring all the bad stuff with us, of if we can totally reimagine how we act in space for sustainability purposes, for fairness purposes, for justice, for equality?”
As a researcher whose passion lies in institutions and government policies, Dr Stephenson says she relies heavily on known theory within her research.
“The theory says that new institutions created in more gender equal times are more gender equal, and I really wanted to test that,” she says.
“We do have new rules, regulations, agencies, departments, in the space sector. It was the first opportunity to watch a natural experiment unfold.
“It’s one of three of my primary domains that I research. I also research artificial intelligence and climate change.”
Dr Stephenson grew up on the outskirts of Brisbane before travelling around rural and remote Australia. After planting her roots within the Yass Valley in Binalong, she says her connectedness with country and community has always been the perfect accompaniment to her research.
“For me, research is the perfect avenue to be able to do stuff that is way outside the bounds of the [Yass] Valley, but then I get to return home to Binalong, which is this perfect balance,” she says.
“I didn’t always see myself doing this, but I’m really happy with where I am.”
As for the biggest message and takeaway she is leaving her research with, Dr Stephenson says the concept of space isn’t quite what is commonly described.
“Space isn’t up there, it’s down here. It’s in all of the technologies and innovations that we use on a daily basis,” she says.
“It is not something that is just technological, it’s very much human-based. And what we do in space, is really about the accumulation of power and wealth on Earth.
“So who gets to make the decisions on whether we mine the moon or colonise Mars?”
These, she says, are decisions that are made by a select few humans on Earth who are unable to represent the entire population.
“That should concern us all,” she says.
“There’s a really big opportunity for humanity to think carefully about our next steps. So, I think that’s probably what surprised me most.
“I’d love to see a more representative and diverse space sector, because I think we’re only using a fraction of our imagination when it comes to, for instance, technologies.
“Maybe the medical device that saves someone’s life was actually something that was incubated in the space sector first before being transferred to an honours application.
“There’s so much potential in this sector. It isn’t all just up there on the moon and the stars.”
Dr Stephenson will be launching her book at Blue Door Books within Yass on Comur Street.
“It means a lot because there was so much community support that went into me doing this research,” she says.
“I had to spend stints over in the US to work with the United Nations and with NASA, and it was some of our closest neighbours in Binalong who looked after our home while we were gone, and who were supporting us from afar.
“I’m really, really thrilled to be able to do the first launch here in the Valley at Blue Door Books.”
Preorders for Space XX can be made at https://publishing.monash.edu/product/space-xx/
Elizabeth Kovacs
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