Meganne Christian

Meganne Louise Christian (born 1987) is a member of the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group, and Reserve Astronaut and Exploration Commercialisation Lead at the UK Space Agency.

She was previously a materials scientist at the National Research Council (CNR) in Bologna, Italy, and atmospheric physicist at Concordia Station in Antarctica.

Research alt=Portrait photograph of Meganne Christian in the snow, at Concordia Station, Antarctica. Icicles on clothing. At the Italian National Research Agency (CNR) in Bologna, she worked on the production and microscopical characterisation of graphene-based nanocomposites, in particular 3D graphene structures such as graphene foams, as part of the EU's Graphene Flagship. This included zero-gravity research in 2018, studying the application of loop heat pipes for the heat management of satellites. She held the role of atmospheric physicist and meteorologist at the Franco-Italian Antarctic research base at Concordia Station during the 2019 "DC15" Winter-over campaign and the 2020–21 Summer season.

Biography Born in Kent, England to New Zealand parents, at five she moved with her family to Wollongong, Australia. and was part of the school's 2002 international championship team of Future Problem Solving Program International. Studying at the University of New South Wales, in 2009 Christian received a Bachelor of Engineering and the university medal in industrial chemistry. Continuing at UNSW, she received the 2011 Heinz Harant award and her doctorate in 2014 for research into hydrogen storage with borohydrides, after which she moved in Bologna and worked at the Institute of Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM) at the National Research Council of Italy. The ambassador of Australia to Italy featured Christian as part of International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021. In June 2023, she was appointed Reserve Astronaut and Exploration Commercialisation Lead at the UK Space Agency. In 2023, she received the Australia Day award "Wollongong to the world" from the city. In March 2024, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

She holds four citizenships, British and New Zealand by birth; Australian and Italian by naturalisation. She received Italian citizenship in 2022.

A barbershop singer, Christian has twice won the Sweet Adelines International competition's "harmony classic" division – in 2017 and 2023 with Canberra-based choir Brindabella chorus. She holds a blackbelt in Hapkido. Other hobbies include via ferrata, knitting, sewing and whitewater rafting.