Anay Ashwin
Human spaceflight and space medicine

Anay Ashwin
Haileybury College, Melbourne, Australia
University of Southern Queensland’s (UniSQ), Australia

UPDATE, May 2025: Future space doctor launches his studies early at UniSQ (www, LinkedIn)

Anay Ashwin is a highly driven high school student with a deep passion for human spaceflight and space medicine. From a young age, he has been captivated by the Apollo and Shuttle programs, which inspired his ambition to become a flight surgeon, focusing on ensuring the health and safety of astronauts in extraterrestrial environments. His ultimate goal is to contribute to pioneering missions that pave the way for human habitation on other planets. 

Anay has won several accolades in national and international STEM competitions, where he has earned recognition for his teamwork and innovation. His team secured first place in the International Mission to Mars Engineering Design competition, and he earned third place in the Australian Space Agency-funded ELO ’s Big Dipper Challenge for designing a lunar regolith collection device. Anay was one of the youngest to compete against nearly 200 global entries from teams of engineers and PhD students. Anay is passionate about research, and he presented a track talk at the International Mars society convention, and he has presented at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC24) in Milan, Australian Space Research Conference and International AIAA Student Conference. 

Anay is also committed to making space more accessible to younger generations. As a student ambassador for leading space organisations, he champions inclusive opportunities for students in the space industry through outreach programs. He also hosts a podcast where he interviews experts from across the space sector, aiming to demystify the notion that space careers are limited to those with engineering or physics backgrounds. Anay is passionate about contributing to future human spaceflight missions and promoting the idea that “space is for all.” 

You can find out more about Anay's idea of collecting lunar regolith and other projects here. 

And here are the links to Anay's podcast "I Am Not A Rocket Scientist": Apple, Spotify.