What pushes someone to climb the outside of a skyscraper with no ropes, no safety net, and nothing between them and the ground? Or to strap themselves into a 35-tonne rocket headed for the moon?

The 2026 Australian of the Year, Katherine Bennell-Pegg set her sights on the skies from the age of five, and did everything it took to pursue a childhood dream. 

So what does it take to become an astronaut? And what compels someone to push beyond the limits, chase new frontiers and boldly go where we've never gone before?