For the third year in a row, the New Zealand Space Agency came to Carterton for Carterton Space Week. We are a small town in Wairarapa, yet year after year, people working at the heart of New Zealand’s growing space sector come here, meet our community and talk about what is happening next.
This year’s Fresh From Space evening brought together Grace Andrews and TJ Ariu from the New Zealand Space Agency, Mark Rocket, Dr Yvette Perrott from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, and astrophysicist Sam Leske as moderator. The conversation travelled a very long way.
Mark described what it actually feels like to travel to space, including the sudden transition from the intense acceleration of launch to weightlessness and the experience of looking out into the blackness beyond Earth.
Yvette spoke about astrophysics, radio astronomy and the research being done with some of the world’s most advanced telescopes, while Grace and TJ talked about how rapidly New Zealand’s space sector has developed and where it may grow next.
And one of the most interesting parts of the discussion was that space is not just about rockets.
Satellite data is increasingly being used for agriculture, environmental monitoring, navigation, telecommunications, emergency management and other practical applications here on Earth. The panel also discussed advanced aviation, space sustainability, robotic exploration, careers in the sector and the growing challenge of managing the environment around Earth as more satellites are launched.
The audience questions took the discussion even further, from human missions to Mars and robotic exploration of the Solar System to what a teenager should study if they want to work in space. The answer was wonderfully broad.
Engineering matters, but so do science, computing, biology, law, policy, design, communications, project management and many other skills. There is no single road into the space sector.
For Carterton, events like this matter for another reason.
They bring people, knowledge and conversations here that we might otherwise expect to find only in Wellington, Auckland or Christchurch. They create opportunities for local students, businesses and residents to meet people working in emerging industries and to ask questions directly.
They also help build Carterton’s identity as a place that is curious, creative and willing to try something a little different.
You certainly don’t have to love space to appreciate what it means when national organisations, researchers and industry leaders are willing to keep coming back to our town. And perhaps that is one of the most exciting things about Carterton Space Week. It is not only about looking up but bringing new ideas into Carterton.
A huge thank you to Grace, TJ, Mark, Yvette and Sam, and to everyone who joined us for another brilliant Fresh From Space evening as part of Carterton Space Week 2026.
