Resources

• Andy Thomas Space Foundation
  ATSF are the primary movers in space education & outreach in Australia. Their work involves powering STEM programmes in schools, funding scholarships, fostering local industry talent and organising massive events like the Australian Space Forum and accompanying Australian Space Week.
• Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program
• Melbourne Space Program
• One Giant Leap Foundation
• Robinson Aerospace Systems
• Victorian Space Science Education Centre
• Hamilton Secondary College Space School
• UWA ISC Space Boot Camp
• Aus Space Discovery Centre

University degrees:
There are many, many study pathways to space – some clear and direct, others unorthodox and unexpected. Space is ubiquitous in the modern era and almost every tertiary institution will offer courses in a relevant field, though some will offer stronger and more streamlined study programmes than others. A list of Australian universities can be found here. Some universities have dedicated research centres for space science, engineering & technologies. We are curating a list of significant groups under the “Research groups and major projects” tab below.

Here are some good sources covering activity close to home:

• Australian Space Outlook
• Australia In Space
• Space Connect Online (who also have a podcast)
• Space Australia
• SASIC newsfeed
• Australian Space Agency: news & Outback To Orbit podcast

For updates in planetary science and astrobiology, we recommend these American sources:

• NASA JPL newsletter for a monthly (or more frequent if you want!) planetary exploration digest.
• SAGANet newsletter for a straightforward summary of latest advancements in astrobiology from around the world.

For those wishing to monitor the global space launch schedule, and perhaps tune in to a rocket livestream, see Rocket Launch Live.

• Australian Centre for Astrobiology
• SmartSat CRC – according to SASIC, “the biggest space industry-research collaboration in Australia’s history” powers a number of exciting projects, among which is the Kanyini satellite.
• Curtin University: Space Science and Technology Centre (projects include the Binar satellite and Desert Fireball Network); Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy
• University of Adelaide: ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space
• University of Adelaide: Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources – projects in deep space habitation, off-Earth construction, and rover testing.
• International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research
• CSIRO have a large and very active space science and technology division whose work includes in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU), Earth observation, and deep space mission communications at New Norcia (in collaboration with ESA ESOC) and at CDSCC (in collaboration with NASA Deep Space Network). CSIRO also collaborates with universities and other research organisations to run the remote Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, which is home to world-leading projects including ASKAP, MWA, and SKA (the SKA is an international flagship science project – read more here).
• ANU Institute for Space
• UTAS Space Tracking and Southern Skies Network
• RMIT Space Industry Hub
• Swinburne Space Technology and Industry Institute
• Sydney Institute for Astronomy
• UWA International Space Centre
• Geoscience Australia
• ELO2 – the industry consortium tasked by the Australian Space Agency to build and operate Australia’s first lunar rover, ‘Roo-ver’, which will journey to the Moon in support of NASA’s Artemis programme.
• Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth (AROSE)

This is a huge category with new players appearing on a regular basis – we could never hope to maintain a definitive list! Instead, here is a selection of notable Australian companies and organisations whose activities intersect with space exploration:

• Australian Space Agency
• Fleet Space Technologies
• Neumann Space
• Southern Launch
• Human Aerospace
• Gilmour
• Safety From Space – among other projects, trialing an emergency satellite communications system for lunar astronaut Search & Rescue applications.
• Lunar Outpost
• Saber Astronautics
• H. Industries
• Fugro SpAARC – remote operations and robotic automation in space.

Looking for more? Industry databases provide more comprehensive listings and are worth investigating. The SASIC directory is publicly accessible.

• Mars Society Australia
• Australasian Dark Sky Alliance
• Australian Youth Aerospace Association
• Astronomical Society of Australia – this is a national society, for local chapters see the helpful webpages below:
  • https://astronomy.org.au/amateur/amateur-societies/australia/
  • https://quasarastronomy.com.au/societies/
  • https://quokkaspace.wordpress.com/australian-space-groups/

We highly recommend these international groups for planetary science and astrobiology:

• The Planetary Society, who advocate for planetary science & exploration, and have an amazing public education programme (and who also have an excellent newsletter).
• SAGANet

Further, if you are a tertiary student, we suggest searching your university’s clubs & societies directory.

• SAGANet offers a great resources page for astrobiology readers.
• NASA’s Eyes provides real-time visualistion of the solar system and the spacecraft exploring it.
• Quasar Astronomy helpfully lists places of astronomical interest in Australia.