Updated October 23, 2026 — 4:36pm , first published 1:02pm

The federal government has made a formal bid to the European Space Agency to send Australian of the Year Katherine Bennell-Pegg to space, but has refused to say how much the offer is worth, amid doubts it has stumped up enough money to meet the mission’s multimillion-dollar price tag.

In May, the ESA offered to fly Bennell-Pegg, a qualified astronaut and director of space technology at Australian Space Agency, on a future mission at a cost of more than $100 million.

Australian of the Year astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg.…