Last month, the Australian Space Agency (ASA) made an agreement to collaborate on NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration, in addition to the Artemis Program (which aims to land the first women on the Moon).
This is a huge step for ASA, and is assisting in moving Australia’s aviation and aeronautics industry forward. This agreement will not result in ASA launching any payloads, as the budget is too low. However, it will allow Australian businesses to collaborate with NASA, therefore utilising Australia’s experience and expertise within aeronautics, robotics and automation. Furthermore, opportunities may present themselves for the cutting-edge research coming out of our universities and research bodies.
Because of the agreement, the Australian Government has pledged $150 million funding to increase the ASA budget – a huge increase on the previous $73.2 million budget for an agency that has been around for 12 months. The investment will focus on three main elements that will assist in Australia’s role within the global space sector:
- Pilot projects which will display Australia’s capabilities to both NASA and international space supply chains;
- Collaborating with NASA in identifying how Australia can contribute to NASA’s Moon and Mars programs;
- Gaining access to international space supply chains, which will assist Australia’s space industry to meet the stringent requirements of providing services and products for the global space industry.
Head of the Australian Space Agency, Dr Megan Clark AC, said this announcement is an important step in Australia’s growing space industry.
“The investment will allow our businesses and researchers to contribute Australia’s best ideas and technology to support NASA’s plan to return to the Moon and on to Mars.”
Funding for this project will commence next year, with areas of investment also strongly aligning with Civil Space Priority areas. The investment will also accelerate the government’s goal of increasing the size of Australia’s space sector to $12 billion, while also creating up to 20,000 jobs by 2030. Overall, this will increase Australia’s share of the $350 billion global space market – which will continue to open up new opportunities for graduates interested in aerospace technologies and provide access to new funding potential.