Niamh Shaw

Who is Niamh Shaw?

Dr. Niamh Shaw is an Irish space and polar explorer, engineer and leadership keynote speaker who brings audiences to the frontier of human spaceflight, and back with a renewed perspective on Earth. She reports on major space missions including Artemis and has worked in extreme environments from the polar regions of Antarctica and the Arctic to Mars analogue missions, including zero-gravity flight. She has also reported from the Atacama Desert in Chile on the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). Known for warmth, clarity and Irish storytelling, Niamh’s talks don’t just explain space — they leave audiences asking bigger questions about perspective, purpose and the future we’re building.

What is their Career Path?
With a background in engineering and a PhD in science, Niamh reports on major space missions including Artemis and works across broadcast, print and live events to translate space exploration into insight that lands with real-world audiences. Her perspective is grounded in lived exploration across Earth and space: she served as an analogue astronaut at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS, Crew 173), completed a Mars analogue in the Kalahari Desert, trained and worked in the polar regions of Antarctica and the Arctic, experienced zero-gravity flight, and reported from leading space centres including NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the European Space Agency. She is a Fellow of The Explorers Club and Ireland’s only ESA Champion for education/public engagement in space science. She is the founder of Town Scientist, a growing platform bringing science literacy and future-focused thinking into communities. Her media work includes appearances on BBC Television, BBC Radio and Sky News, and she has reported for Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ (including RTÉ Prime Time). She writes for The Irish Times and contributes to BBC Sky at Night.