The university has formalised the LifeSpringsMars Working Group through a new statement of strategic intent and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Indian technology company Uncharted AI at the Western Australian government’s trade stand.
The LifeSpringsMars Working Group brings together scientists and industry specialists from Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Arizona State University, the University of Auckland, and several international robotics partners. The collaboration will drive mission design studies, trial new technologies for mining, defence and remote operations, and develop new education and workforce pathways in the fast-growing space sector.
Professor Melinda Fitzgerald, Curtin University deputy vice-chancellor, research, said Western Australia’s unique geology makes it an ideal base for planetary science and exploration research.
“Through the LifeSpringsMars Working Group and our partnership with Uncharted AI, Curtin is helping to answer the question ‘Are we alone?’, while also delivering technologies vital to Western Australia’s future,” Fitzgerald said.
Under the MOU, Curtin and Uncharted AI will undertake joint research, expand the LifeSpringsMars Working Group’s activities into India, and launch pilot projects across both WA and India. The partnership will also support workforce development initiatives to strengthen links between the two regions.
Uncharted AI’s co-founder and CEO, Pradyumna Vyshnav, said the collaboration would drive new frontiers in exploration both on Earth and beyond.
“Partnering with Curtin allows us to bring our autonomous technologies into a world-leading hub of planetary science,” Vyshnav said.
“Together, we can advance astrobiology and lunar exploration, while transforming how we discover critical minerals and explore extreme environments – whether in Western Australia, on the moon or further afield.”
The partnerships reinforce Curtin’s growing presence in global space and technology initiatives. The university is a key participant in Robopalooza Perth 2025, where Uncharted AI will demonstrate its robotics platforms, and in the Indo-Pacific Robotics, Autonomy, AI and Cyber Conference, both of which highlight Western Australia’s emergence as a centre for innovation and advanced technology.
Curtin is also nurturing future generations of scientists and engineers through two new space and planetary sciences majors, designed to prepare students for careers at the intersection of planetary exploration, autonomous systems and resource technology.