Michaela Benthaus

Michaela (Michi) Benthaus is an aerospace engineer and author. She has been paraplegic since a mountain bike accident in 2018. In late 2025, she became the first wheelchair user in the world to fly to space with Blue Origin, making space history. She took part in a parabolic flight back in 2022 and led a simulated lunar mission in 2024.

She advocates for greater inclusion and accessibility, in space and here on Earth. Her story raises questions that go far beyond space travel: Who actually decides where we draw the line between “impossible” and “not designed for yet”? And what becomes possible when we think accessibility first?