First WA Student Alaxandrea O’Brien Joins NASA Through National Indigenous Space Academy

Alaxandrea O’Brien has become the first Western Australian university student selected for Monash University’s National Indigenous Space Academy (NISA), placing her among eight First Nations tertiary students undertaking 10-week placements at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and RAL Space.

Growing up in the Kimberley and Goldfields, the proud Dulgubarra-Mamu and Jirrbal woman harboured ambitions of making scientific discoveries to benefit humanity. Now, the University of WA environmental engineering student is in California working alongside scientist and engineer mentors on real-life projects contributing to current space missions.

From Regional Western Australia to NASA

O’Brien’s interest in space began at a young age while looking up at the stars and viewing Saturn’s rings through a telescope in Broome. Moving from living on country to Broome and Kalgoorlie before studying in Perth, she never imagined her path would lead to NASA. Professor Chris Lawrence, director of NISA at Monash University, noted that the scholarship offers a transformative opportunity for Indigenous STEM university students to study at leading space research facilities.

O’Brien Maps Water Dynamics Using Satellite Data

At JPL, O’Brien has been paired with a mentor to work with satellite data from spacecraft currently in the outer atmosphere. Her work focuses on seeing through dense vegetation to map water dynamics, aligning closely with her degree. We’re looking at seeing through dense vegetation to map our water dynamics, which is something extremely aligned with my degree, O’Brien explained. She intends to apply what she learns during an honours thesis next year, combining JPL’s cutting-edge environmental science with the deep wisdom of Indigenous land management.