Indigenous Palawa man Joel Steele says his experience interning at NASA has been transformative.
"It changed my perspective on where my career could go, on the things that I could do," he said.
Dr Steele, who is now a research fellow at Monash University, joined the US space agency for 14 weeks in 2020 as part of a pilot program for the new National Indigenous Space Academy (NISA).
Working on a range of projects outside his subject area of space biology, Dr Steele said operating the flight simulator used to train astronauts and pilots was a highlight.
He said being at NASA made even the most routine work thrilling.
"You can be doing something you would otherwise find boring, but then you remember: 'Oh my God, this is going to go into space!'
"It makes the most mundane science amazing."
NISA was launched in March by Monash University's faculty of information technology in partnership with NASA and the Australian Space Agency.
The head of the program, Monash University associate dean (Indigenous) Christopher Lawrence, said its goal was to give participants the opportunity to expand their career pathways and lead to increased participation in science by First Nations people.
"We share a vision with the Australian Space Agency to foster career development for First Nations people in the space sector, with the ultimate goal to see the first-ever Indigenous Australian astronaut," said Professor Lawrence, who is a Wadjuk/Ballardong Noongar man.
Five more Indigenous STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) students will get to work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California as part of the next cohort in the 10-week NISA internship program.
Before heading for the US, the students will spend time at Monash doing an internship preparation program or "space boot camp".
They will learn more about key topics related to space exploration — such as aerodynamics, astrophysics, and computer sciences — as well as current and former NASA space exploration missions.
However, their field of study back at home will play a major part in what their day-to-day work at NASA will look like.
Whether it be data analysis, lab sample testing or programming for robotic arms, students will be treated just like NASA employees.
"The students we sent last, in 2019, worked on the Mars 2020 rover and the RoboSimian, so these students get to participate in these real missions," Professor Lawrence said.
The future for Indigenous science
Dr Steele said he hoped the NISA program would not only expand the participants' horizons individually but also lead to increasing investment in science programs for Indigenous students.
He said increased funding and investment in programs such as NISA were "important next steps for Aboriginal students" that have a great potential to "drag people up".
There were clear benefits in having more-diverse voices in places where scientists were making important decisions, he added.
"It's a disservice to not have those opinions included when they are available," he said.
"We may have different perspectives, but those perspectives are just as important."
