Australian Government Commits to Join NASA in Lunar Exploration and Beyond
WASHINGTON, DC (NASA PR) — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced his nation’s intention to join the United States’ Moon to Mars exploration approach, including NASA’s Artemis lunar program.
The announcement took place at a ceremony Saturday at NASA Headquarters in Washington during which NASA Deputy Administrator, Jim Morhard, and Head of the Australian Space Agency, Megan Clark, signed a joint statement of intent. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Australian Ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey and U.S. Ambassador to Australia Arthur Culvahouse Jr. also participated in the ceremony.
The statement foresees potential Australian contributions in areas of mutual interest such as robotics, automation, and remote asset management – similar to that currently used by Australia in mining operations – and builds on a unique history of space cooperation between the U.S. and Australia that dates back to the Apollo era.
As part of Australia’s commitment to partner with NASA, Morrison pledged to more than triple the Australian Space Agency budget to support Artemis and Moon to Mars.
“We are honored by today’s statement and the commitment of our friends from Australia to support us in our mission to return to the Moon by 2024 with the Artemis program,” Morhard said. “The strong relationship between NASA and the Australian Space Agency affirms NASA’s commitment to establish sustainable exploration with our commercial and international partners by 2028.”
Although the Australian Space Agency is relatively new, established a little over a year ago, Australia has a long tradition of working closely with the U.S. in space activities. A formal agreement between NASA and the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) signed in 1960 allows for tracking and communication of NASA missions through the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) at Tidbinbilla, as well as the Data Relay Satellite facilities in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, and Dongara, Western Australia. The CDSCC serves as an integral component of NASA’s Deep Space Network.
In August, the Mars 2020 and ExoMars rover science teams honed their skills in the Australian Outback, where the rocks are of similar age to the terranes on Mars, in preparation for their respective missions to launch to the Red Planet next summer in search of signs of past life on Mars.
Saturday’s joint statement strengthens the relationship between Australia and the U.S. and broadens the community of nations joining NASA in further exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Through Artemis, NASA will send the first woman and next man to the surface the Moon by 2024, and establish sustainable exploration with our commercial and international partners by 2028. NASA’s Artemis program is the next step in human exploration and is a part of America’s broader Moon to Mars exploration approach.
For information about the Australian Space Agency, visit:
For more information about the Moon to Mars exploration approach, visit:
10 responses to “Australian Government Commits to Join NASA in Lunar Exploration and Beyond”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This should go well, until someone in the State Department realizes they are a party to the Moon Agreement.
And we also deal with China, Thomas. But, my burning question is where’s Jimbo? Our PM only rated NASA’s Deputy Administrator? I mean don’t get me wrong, our ScoMo’s a real dickhead and well, Joe Hockey, the less said about that scumbag the better. But, IMO, Jimbo should have represented the US/NASA interests at that BS ceremony. Regards, Paul.
Hi Paul. Couldn’t agree more. This is just plain stupid and is just something to talk about. ASA is supposed to be looking at strategic alliances building on our strengths. I hardly see LOP-G as providing any strategic value to anyone let alone Oz.
Cheers
Neil
You got Wilbur Ross instead. He’s a Bigger Cheese in American government than Jim Bridenstine (and a more fragrant one to boot!)
Interesting comment. Ross instead of Bridenstine here may actually be more a reflection of Bridenstine’s current lack of sufficient status to meet a foreign head of state than of Australia not meriting a meeting with the NASA Adminstrator.
Ross is a Cabinet officer and, thus, outranks Administrator Bridenstine anent protocol. He was there because the Commerce Dept. now has responsibility for commercial space.
China is not one of the Moon Agreement nations. None of the space faring nations are. One reason is that the Moon Agreement requires member states to share technology and knowledge for the benefit of all. That means sharing any Australia space technology with other Moon Agreement nations like Pakistan and Venezuela. Any economic benefits must be shared as well. I am sure Australia will abide by the treaty and share with the other Moon Agreement nations. 🙂
You think that the current Australian LNP Government will honour an agreement? Thomas, thou art a man of exceedingly great faith. My tip is that they will behave like they always have so far and do what they believe will be in their immediate best interests and bend over, touch their toes and longingly anticipate to be Trumped – “Moon Agreement, Donnie darling, what Moon Agreement?” 🙂 Regards, Paul.
Australia has got to withdraw from that Moon Treaty if they are going to get serious about space.
Considering that public-private partnerships are baked into Artemis’ plans to land at the South Pole (with an eye very much towards the water ice resources there), Australia’s otherwise very welcome participation looms as problematic.
Anyway, there’s still time (years) before someone gets to extracting resources commercially and trying to put them up for sale and finally actually exchanging ownership of them for some kind of payment. But it seems the time to bring the Moon Treaty issue up is now.
Question for our Australian fellow commenters: What would you like to see Australia do in space, and how?