The Australian Government has provided five space companies with a total of A$3.6 million in grants to support lunar exploration.
Grant recipients include entX, Fleet Space Technologies, and Advanced Navigation. These companies will build equipment to aid with Moon missions and rocket launches.
“These projects demonstrate the ingenuity that Australia has to offer our international partners in space,” said Australian Space Agency head Enrico Palermo.
“Through this investment we are helping Australian companies gain crucial space heritage and grow strong customer bases – which will generate more opportunities for Australia to collaborate on the global stage.”
These investments are part of NASA and the Australian Space Agency’s joint Moon to Mars initiative. The agencies are already set to launch Roo-ver, an Australian lunar rover, to the moon later this decade during NASA’s Artemis missions.
The Australian Space Agency has provided more than $25 million in grants under the program.
entX will receive the largest grant, at $1 million. The company will develop a heater unit to protect deliveries from the Moon’s low temperatures.
Advanced Navigation, Element Robotics, and Nominal Systems will support future launches.
Advanced Navigation will provide a navigation system for rockets, including those made by Australian company Gilmour Space Technologies, and Element Robotics will develop technology to simulate lunar missions. Nominal Systems will upgrade its virtual satellite testing platforms.
Fleet Space will build a gravity measurement device to aid in locating critical minerals. Fleet Space raised $150 million in funding in December, bringing its valuation to $800 million.