It is with sad regret that the Women in Space Aotearoa New Zealand (WISANZ) Committee have had to make the difficult decision to cancel the Fly Me to the Moon fundraiser dinner and auction planned for 12 July 2024.

Unfortunately unforeseen operational schedule changes for our Special Space Guest, Axiom Space Astronaut Peggy Whitson, alongside unforeseen cost hurdles have meant that, despite the generous support of sponsors, the event can no longer proceed as we’d hoped.

The WISANZ Committee is extremely sorry we are unable to bring this exciting event to fruition to raise funds for our network and to provide an incredible evening of space celebrations. Peggy Whitson is also very sad to no longer be able to come down to New Zealand to support WISANZ for this event. The WISANZ Committee will keep in touch with Axiom Space and Peggy and hope to have another opportunity in the future to welcome Peggy to Aotearoa to share her inspiring career and experiences.

We are incredibly grateful for the generous sponsorship support from Sir Stephen Tindall’s K1W1 investment company and Gilbert Walker. We’re also grateful to our accommodation partner QT Auckland for offering an exclusive discount for the event and for the support of partners who donated Space Auction prizes, including Rocket Lab, Axiom Space, Outset Ventures and Stardome. We are very sorry we couldn’t bring the event to fruition, however we are grateful for this wonderful support our sponsors and event partners offered for our network through this event.

The WISANZ Committee is currently working through cancellation activities. We will take a breath and re-group, then come back with more great events for our network and supporters, as well as alternate fundraising initiatives.

Ad astra!

The WISANZ Committee