Get ready to discover how space research is driving the future of science, health, and human exploration.

Join trailblazing astronaut and aeromedical transport physician Dr Shawna Pandya, renowned astrophysicist Professor Peter Quinn, and astrophysicist, Dr Ruby Wright for the launch of the latest issue of the Forrest Research Foundation’s Perth Dialogue. Beyond Earth: The Case for Space dives into why space research is driving innovation, fuelling discovery, and expanding what’s possible for life on Earth.

You’ll also journey through the universe with Forrest Researchers, as they take us to the cutting edge of space science – where big questions meet bold research.

This is a collaboration event held by Scitech and the Forrest Research Foundation with all proceeds getting donated to Scitech.

Featured speakers

• Dr Shawna Pandya is the first named female commercial Canadian astronaut and will be flying to space with the Virgin Galactic Delta class of spacecraft with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) as early as 2026. She is also an emergency and aeromedical transport physician and aquanaut. Dr Pandya was on the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in zero-gravity in 2015. She earned her aquanaut designation on the 2019 NEPTUNE mission, and completed a second aquanaut mission, NEP2NE, in May 2023, for a total of 11 days, 10 nights underwater. In 2022, Dr. Pandya was named one of the Explorers’ Club’s “50 Explorers Changing the World.”
• Professor Peter Quinn is a highly cited researcher in astronomy and astrophysics with a special focus on computational cosmology and dark matter research. He is a leader in scientific data intensive systems design and research and the development of science operations systems for mega-science facilities. He has led the international virtual observatory effort and was awarded a 21st century achievement award for science by Computerworld in 2005. Peter founded the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Perth in 2009 and is currently working with the WA and Federal governments in Australia to ensure the success of the $3 billion AUD international Square Kilometre Array radio telescope.
• Dr Ruby Wright is an astrophysicist studying how galaxies, including our own Milky Way, consume and expel gas. She uses cosmological simulations—computer-generated “mini-universes”—which have recently become an essential and ubiquitous tool for astronomers. As a Forrest Fellow, Ruby is helping to build Western Australia’s expertise in computational astrophysics, supporting observations from world-class facilities like the Square Kilometre Array and its precursors.

• Date: 25 September 2025
• Time: 6pm
• Location: Scitech Planetarium
• Price: From $20