Winners of ActInSpace Australia 2026 shortly after the announcement with judges from L-R Ady James, Helen Loudis, Ben Colley and Associate Director: Business Incubation Craig Jones, at the Space Discovery Centre.
A pair of Adelaide University students have taken out ActInSpace Australia after developing a novel solution to improve how menstruation is managed in space.
Shradha Angrish and Mei He, competing as team ‘The Red Planet’, will now represent Australia on the global stage in April, traveling to France to compete in the ActInSpace international finals against space innovators from around the world.
The aerospace engineering students beat eight other teams who worked intensively throughout 24 hours over the weekend, to address real-world space challenges set by organisations such as Airbus, the French national space agency (CNES) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The winning concept proposed a space-adapted menstrual management system that tackles women’s health as a critical challenge for long-duration space missions, rethinking how menstrual care and waste are managed in orbit.
Ms He said the win came as a surprise, with the team entering the competition focused on the experience.
“With menstruation still being a taboo topic in some communities, the goal was simply to speak up about it and have fun. Winning was an added bonus,” she said.
“I had so much fun during the hackathon, and I am very grateful for all of the help and support that we received from the mentors and judges.”
Ms Angrish said the decision to focus on menstrual health was about using the platform to address an overlooked issue.
"Menstruation is such an important topic that doesn’t receive enough attention. It felt like a good use of the platform, regardless of the outcome. The more we thought about it, the more it felt like, if we don’t, then maybe no one will," she said.
"It was super cool to see how everyone, including the mentors, brought their perspectives and how that shaped the project."
Runners up, team ‘Endurance’, pitched a cargo optimisation system that applies warehouse-style logistics to spacecraft, helping astronauts store, locate and retrieve equipment more efficiently.
Third place went to team ‘Under-Koalafied’, who proposed using satellite data to verify forest health and carbon offset claims, improving transparency while reducing reliance on manual field inspections.
Prior to the event kicking off, participants heard from Adelaide University’s Professor Siobhan Banks who shared practical strategies for managing fatigue and cognitive performance during an all-night innovation contest.
Professor Banks’ has previously worked with the NASA National Space and Biomedical Research Institute, and her current research focuses on the impact of sleep deprivation and how countermeasures may be used to prevent the negative effects of disturbed sleep.
Associate Director: Business Incubation Craig Jones says the event once again showcased the depth of emerging space talent in Australia.
“Each time we host this event, we are amazed how participants turn bold ideas into credible solutions in just 24 hours,” he says.
“In that time, teams test assumptions, sharpen their ideas and respond to real space challenges, producing concepts with genuine technical and commercial potential.
“Events like this show why Australia’s space ecosystem is growing so quickly, and we’re excited to see this year’s winning team represent Australia on the global stage in France this April.”
Delivered locally by the University’s Innovation & Collaboration Centre (ICC) and co-organised by the French space agency (CNES) and the European Space Agency (ESA), ActInSpace is a free event where participants imagine, build, test and pitch ideas to real space challenges.
The 2026 event ran simultaneously in 59 countries bringing together almost 2,400 competitors worldwide.
Australia’s event was made possible thanks to Platinum Sponsor iLaunch and a range of other sponsors and supporters listed on the event webpage.
