The Long Room in Trinity College, Dublin, is steeped in history; busts of icons, pages and pages of words from literary legends and on a very early Friday morning, another history maker joined; Dr Norah Patten, the first Irish astronaut to go to space.
Ever since she was 11 years old and visited NASA on a family trip to the US, this Mayo woman has dreamed of exploring a world outside of our own, and soon, that dream is about to become a reality. In 2026, Dr Norah will be joined by Dr Shawna Pandya from Canada and Kellie Gerardi from the US as they complete a space mission with a full female flight team – which is particularly notable, as to this day, only 12 per cent of those in space have been women. While on the mission, the trio will conduct experiments in micro gravity and further investigations about sustaining life off earth.
Sitting down in the nearby Trinity City Hotel, Dr Norah tells us how a letter from NASA as a teen helped carve her career, the importance of women in STEM and how she hopes her two-year-old daughter will one day understand the significance of what she’s achieved, in this national first.
Norah, the first Irish astronaut in space. What an accomplishment! Can you sum up the feeling?
It’s absolutely amazing – particularly because it’s a national first. It has taken so many years to finally reach this point. It was really the reaction from everyone else that made it hit home, of just how much of a big deal it is that I’m the first Irish person go to space. I just feel so much gratitude and also a huge sense of responsibility. Our research institute, IIAS (International Institute for Astronautical Science), has been working really hard over the last ten years to make these opportunities happen. I’m absolutely blown away, it’s just
hard to put into words how I’m feeling after securing one of those seats.
A childhood dream turned into reality! Space travel holds such intrigue. Is it the unknown, exploration, adventure…?
Space was always my love. I was fascinated by the whole notion of leaving earth. Sending humans off our planet, living and working in space in a completely different environment. It’s so intriguing. And to be able to see earth from space and have that viewpoint… wow.
You worked hard to get to where you are now. Manifesting is a big word thrown around at the moment, does that come into it, or is it all down to sheer graft over the years?
I think it’s a combination of everything. When I first set out on this goal, this career, there was no road map in Ireland, it just didn’t exist. I had to look ahead and say, okay what can I do next? How do we progress this seemingly impossible career and impossible ambition? It’s been about persistence and grit and always seeking the next step to further whatever it is in life that we want to achieve.
Growing up in Ballina, Co. Mayo, were you encouraged to follow the dream?
It was so far out there, it just wasn’t a thing. But I often talk about just how important teachers are in your decision making, they can really sway a person towards or off certain careers. When I was in secondary school, I had this amazingly positive art teacher and the days I would go in doubting that a career in space would happen, he’d be that voice of support. Every time we were in the US visiting our relations, my parents would bring me to NASA whenever they could. My aunt lived in Cleveland so I went to stay with her for a couple of summers as a teenager and she took me there too because she knew how much I loved space. Having that support was just absolutely fundamental. If they didn’t do that for me I mightn’t have followed this dream or pursued that ambition. And I know I’m incredibly lucky and many wouldn’t be able to do that.
Talk to us about the steps you took to get to where you are now.
As a teenager I wrote to NASA and asked what to do, to work for them. They sent me a career booklet, which I still have. It’s amazing that they actually took time to write back. So I studied aeronautical engineering, that was where my focus landed. I joined the International Space University in 2010 and that was an inlet into a whole circle of space professionals. In July 2014, the first student experiment in Ireland was launched by the International Space Station and I coordinated and managed that, fundraised for it and created that opportunity for teenagers in Ireland. That was ten years ago. This has been a long, long road. I sought out many different opportunities along the way. And so last year I joined Réaltra, a space engineering company and absolutely love it. They make hardware that flies on rockets and goes to space. They’re an amazing team to work with. It keeps me really embedded in the space sector in Ireland. 20 years ago, Réaltra didn’t even exist and there were so few opportunities to stay and work in Ireland. Now people come out of university and we have space jobs here. It’s a testament to where the industry is heading.
It’s brilliant to see all those opportunities opening up, and very positive for the future, too.
In Ireland, the Government has a 3-star contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA) and that has facilitated the growth of the space sector in Ireland. The money they put into the ESA comes back through research opportunities, grants and collaborations. There’s so much happening across Europe and across the rest of the world. It is really just a hive of activity so, for Ireland, it’s a huge economic opportunity having high tech jobs here.
And one of those opportunities lead to this mission which you’ll be embarking on. How long are you going to be in space?
Our research is a same day space orbital, with Virgin Galactic; a commercial space company based in the US. The entire flight profile from take off to landing is less then two hours. We will be using every single moment of that to try get as much data and research as we possibly can.
The aim is to investigate and advance knowledge of supporting life in space, is that right? Do you think in our lifetime that’s a possibility, sustaining life on another planet?
From our flight perspective it is really just to advance things that have already been done but to also introduce new technologies like sensors and biomedical research. If you look at the things space agencies like NASA and ESA are working towards at the moment, it’s to get back to the moon. The International Space Station has been permanently inhabited for almost 25 years now. We have had astronauts living and working off our planet continuously. But now they are working really hard towards getting back to the moon, having a sustainable presence closer to the moon, around it and on it. It’s definitely the next step. We have gained a huge amount of knowledge and experience of living in micro gravity conditions, but there’s still a long way to go.
So, you’re going away this month for training. You’ll be on a parabolic flight, with 20 seconds of free-fall. Tell us more!
Yeah, so we do the micro gravity research flights in Ottawa, Canada, and that’s with the National Research Council in a Falcon20 Jet which is a small aircraft specifically customised for these flights. It’s a parabolic flight, so it flies in a certain trajectory and when the aircraft is in a particular position, it is in free fall and so that’s where you get the weightlessness, the micro gravity component of the flight. You get about 20 seconds and it’s an ideal test bed for preparing our experiment and talking through how we are going to coordinate together as a team.
What does micro gravity feel like?
It’s difficult to explain but people have often said it’s like scuba diving, when you’re under water, that sort of motion. The difference though, is that you have the pressure of the water there. In micro gravity, you are literally lifted out of the seat and everything starts to float. If there is any dust or dirt on the floor you see that lifting off too. It gave me a tiny bit of an insight into what it must be like to live in space on the International Space Station. You only get 20 seconds but it does give you a little bit of perspective.
Is the 20 seconds you are doing in training the same as the mission itself or will you have more time?
We have more time. Typically, on the microgravity research flights you get multiple 20-second slots per flight so you build up minutes of micro gravity experience.
Do you have to be in peak physical condition, is the training for that aspect intense too?
It’s not the same as going with the likes of the Canadian Space Station or NASA. It is a very different route to get to space if you were to be a NASA astronaut. They put you through so many medical tests. But absolutely with the commercial orbital, they still do medical tests, they still have to make sure you are physically able to go on the mission.
You’re doing the mission with Dr Shawna Pandya and Kellie Gerardi, a full female team, which is incredible considering only 12 per cent of those who’ve gone to space have been female. It’s such a male dominated industry so this is great visibility for women in STEM.
Yeah. it’s either 11 or 12 per cent. There have been so few people who have taken part in space travel, really only around 600 or 700. It’s such a small number of people. I think there’s been a legacy issue. If you go back to the Mercury Seven, the original NASA astronauts were all men, that was the way it was at the time. We see a huge change even with the selection process at NASA and ISA, there is certainly more balance in the way of gender representation whereas rewind a few decades it was a very male dominated area.
Your own daughter is probably too young to understand now, but one day she’ll be blown away by the significance of this, what you’re doing.
Oh she hasn’t a clue! She is only two so she doesn’t really get it, but I am really hoping by the time the flight comes around she’ll be old enough to understand what is happening.
Have you been more conscious of the risks surrounding this mission, with her in mind?
I don’t really think about that to be honest. It’s just such a positive opportunity from so many different aspects and to bring so many people with me as I go. I don’t take that on as a fear.
You’re a role model Norah, a history maker. It’s a great precedence to show that no dream is too big, that you can always chase goals. You must be so proud?
Ah, I am! I’m just so focused on what I need to do between now and the actual flight. There’s a lot of work we need to do so that’s where my energy and focus is at the moment. Part of what I want to do is open my space journey up as an opportunity for others and try to engage and hold the door open for the next generations to follow.