Ben Sorensen will join the University of Sydney’s Professor Ian Manchester and ANU’s Dr Kate Ferguson for the session, while ELO2 will also display the latest iteration of its rover prototype.
He joins a line-up of global industry figures, including former prime minister Scott Morrison, NASA’s former chief technologist A.C. Charania, and Eric Philips, Australia’s most recent astronaut. This year’s Australian Space Summit & Exhibition 2025 takes place on 27-28 May at Sydney’s ICC. Click here to buy tickets.
ELO2 beat rival AROSE in December to be tasked with building Australia’s upcoming lunar rover.
The federal government granted both groups $4 million in 2023 to design an initial prototype for a rover – later named Roo-ver – that will be developed to explore the moon’s surface.
It’s hoped it will be able to collect lunar regolith or moon soil that will eventually be turned into oxygen to support a permanent NASA base.
Regolith can both become oxygen that humans can breathe or aid the production of rocket fuel necessary to support the launch of a rocket from the moon to Mars and beyond.
In the session, Sorensen will speak alongside Professor Ian Manchester, director of the Australian Centre for Robotics at the University of Sydney and Dr Kate Ferguson, the associate director of strategic projects at ANU’s Institute for Space.
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The panellists will discuss recent setbacks NASA and international partners have faced in achieving lunar exploration goals and highlight the significance of developing sustainable technologies for long-term lunar habitation.
ELO2 consists of organisations, including universities, SMEs and those in the mining sector. In particular, the University of Adelaide is responsible for the rover’s ongoing testing. Inovor provided the electrical power system, and BHP provided expertise in excavation.
To hear from Sorensen in person, come along to the Australian Space Summit & Exhibition.
Other major headliners include Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, the effective head of Australia’s Space Command; Enrico Palermo, head of the Australian Space Agency; and Dr Ulpia-Elena Botezatu, one of the most senior figures serving on the UN’s Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
For more information on the agenda, click here.
To see the full list of speakers, click here.
Click here to learn more about the Australian Space Summit & Exhibition.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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