Speaking to the Space Connect Podcast, ELO2’s Ben Sorensen said the Australian Space Agency’s $42 million injection would provide confidence and unlock people’s creativity.
“They will see the quality of the work that’s being done and people starting to engage in different career and educational pathways,” he said.
“That will have a compounding effect to grow the space sector and also help technology to move out into other sectors like agriculture, mining, medicine, defence and other things.”
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The interview came on the day it was announced the ELO2 consortium, co-led by EPE and Lunar Outpost Oceania, had beaten AROSE to be tasked with building Australia’s upcoming lunar rover.
The winning design will collect lunar regolith, or Moon soil, that will eventually be turned into oxygen to support a permanent NASA base. A blast-off is expected later this decade.
Speaking on a forthcoming episode, Sorensen added that the winning team’s key goal will be to use the project to inspire a new generation to pursue a career in space, a term he quipped was “literally in the contract.”
“I love this part,” he said. “I think this is so important. This is transformative for the country.
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“When we inspire people, capture their imagination and help them understand the pathways to engage with science, technology, engineering, maths and the arts.
“Or, if you’re like me, commercial so that you can actually participate and engage in space.”
The federal government granted ELO2 and AROSE $4 million last year to design an initial prototype for a rover – later named Roo-ver – that will be developed to explore the Moon’s surface.
ELO2 was widely tipped to win after being the first to unveil its model late last year and subsequently creating four working versions, two of which were showcased at this year’s Australian Space Summit.
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.
The ELO2 consortium, meanwhile, 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.
Enrico Palermo, head of the Australian Space Agency, called the rover plan one of the most ambitious robotic projects in Australia.
“It is a big part of Australia’s commitment and contribution to the Artemis program,” he said.
The $42 million investment from the federal government significantly comes despite a the effective scrapping of the $3 billion JP9102 tender this year and last year’s axing of the the $1 billion National Space Mission for Earth Observation (NSMEO).
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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