EQUS members awarded Moon to Mars Initiative Demonstrator Mission grants

Congratulations to EQUS researchers who have been successful in the Moon to Mars Initiative Demonstrator Mission grants that were announced earlier this week.  This Federal Government initiative will support a series of local space innovations, including a number that can help address climate change.  The 10 successful projects will share in close to $40 million and bring together industry and researchers developing technologies ready for space.

Huge congratulations to Chief Investigator Prof. Kirk McKenzie, Associate Investigators Dr Sascha Schediwy and Prof. Dan Shaddock, and Alumni Dr Lyle Roberts and Dr James Spollard.

Kirk and his team were awarded $6,205,670 for laser technology for the next Grace Mission.  This project will produce laser-stabilisation flight technology for next-generation gravity-sensing missions.  It extends the successful collaboration on the GRACE Follow-On mission to develop space-flight technology for the next GRACE missions.  This industry–academia collaboration, working closely with international partners, leverages Australia’s world-leading defence and technology capabilities of CEA to benefit the Australian space sector, and will unlock access to global markets in satellite and communications for Australian companies.

Dan’s spin-out, Liquid Instruments, is a partner in the successful Australian Deep Space Optical Ground Station Network, which was awarded $4,504007.  This project will establish the first Australian deep-space communication-capable optical ground station by upgrading the ANU optical ground station to be compatible with NASA’s Optical to Orion mission.  The project will pave the way for a future commercial optical communication service by supporting laser links to mission in low-Earth, lunar and deep-space orbits.

For more information about these two projects, visit https://inspace.anu.edu.au/news/two-mission-specialists-awarded-moon-mar....

Sascha and his team were awarded $4,403,973 to establish TeraNet, a three-node commercial optical communications ground station network in Australia.  All three nodes of TeraNet will support low-Earth-orbit communications using the O3K standard, with the network commissioned using the German Space Agency’s OSIRIS on-orbit optical terminals.  Advanced communications technologies deployed in TeraNet, including lunar, coherent, timing and quantum, will enable demonstrations with additional NASA and German Space Agency in-space elements.  The project includes extended training, engagement and operations programs.  All project partners will benefit through the long-term commercial operation of TeraNet and in supporting inspirational international space missions.  For more information, visit https://www.icrar.org/teranet/.

Lyle and James are part of the successful Advanced Navigation project, Project LUNA – Navigation and Guidance Technology for Lunar Exploration, which was awarded $5,272,805. Project LUNA (Laser measurement Unit for Navigational Aid) will demonstrate the performance and capability of the mature Australian LiDAV technology, opening doors to integrate the technology to space transportation, infrastructure and operations service providers, and enable rapid integration into landers from 2025 to 2026, enabling exploration of unreached regions of the Moon and beyond to Mars.  For more information, visit https://www.advancednavigation.com/news/advancednavigation-awarded-5-2m-....

Kirk’s, Sascha’s, and Lyle’s and James’ projects were all recipients of EQUS Translational Research Program funding that fed into these projects.