As the world waits with bated breath to see if NASA’s Artemis II mission will lift-off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Floria, segments of Australia’s space industry is gearing up to support this generational exploration mission.
One such business is South Australian-based Southern Launch, which has been selected to support the NASA Artemis II Orion mission through the company’s partners at Raven Defense, helping NASA to assess the broader aerospace community’s tracking capabilities to support future moon and Mars mission through passive Doppler tracking from Australia.
As part of passively tracking the Orion spacecraft, the company will gather high-quality flight data without transmitting any commands or signals to the vehicle. The effort builds on a successful campaign during Artemis I in 2022, when a team of 10 volunteers tracked Orion as part of an earlier demonstration.
The work will be carried out at the Koonibba Test Range, where Southern Launch has established dedicated tracking infrastructure, including a TALON telemetry dish supplied by Raven Defense. The high-performance S-band antenna system is capable of passive Doppler tracking and collecting detailed flight data, complementing Raven Defense’s tracking operations in the northern hemisphere.
Monash University professor of practice in space innovation and US Air Force Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Larry James said: “The Artemis II mission is a major milestone in humanity’s return to the moon, moving beyond the initial Apollo landings to a more permanent presence on the lunar surface.”
Further detailing the role Australia’s space sector would play in supporting the Artemis II mission, James added: “This is the first step in that journey, which is a multinational effort, and includes Australia providing critical tracking and communication from the Deep Space Communications Complex outside of Canberra, as well as developing the Roo-ver lunar rover which will collect lunar soil samples to test for oxygen and water by the end of the decade.”
But Australia’s opportunity for participation in the renewed push to return to the moon doesn’t end with being a bit player, contributing niche capabilities, something James was at great pains to stress adding: “As our lunar capabilities grow, this will provide great opportunities for Australian researchers and commercial companies to support the expanding habitation and scientific research on the lunar surface and inspire our next generation of explorers. We wish the Artemis crew Godspeed and an incredibly successful mission.”
These developments build on the ongoing role of the Australian National University in supporting the return to the moon through a host of technologies based in and around Canberra.
Further detailing the importance of Artemis II and the firing gun being started on this new space race, Flinders University Professor Rodrigo Praino and research collaborator Marco Aliberti, Associate Director of International Engagement and Education at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) added, "With the launch of Artemis II, the new space race is finally heating up. The Artemis space mission is basically less about what the US will find on the Moon and more about what the US will be missing out if it does not go there.
"While the US still holds the lead – a lead contingent on Artemis II being successful and the entire program staying on track – China is very close, thanks to its quiet determination and a marathon approach dating back more than a decade ago. This is why the Artemis program has recently undergone a drastic shake-up," Professor Praino added.
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