‘I Would Like to See an Australian Fly With Us’: NASA Administrator

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson speaks at an Artemis I mission status briefing on Nov. 28, 2022. (NASA TV/screenshot via NTD)

Nearly two decades after an Aussie astronaut returned back to earth from a space mission, the opportunity for another Aussie to fly with NASA may be on the horizon.

During an address to the National Press Club on March 23, NASA administrator Senator Bill Nelson said: “I would like to see an Australian train and fly with us.”

This was echoed by NASA deputy administrator Colonel Pam Melroy who said the potential Aussie may also have the opportunity to walk on Mars.

“It would be very exciting to see Australia continue to partner with the U.S. long-term. We do hope that when we are ready to go to Mars, we will go as international representatives of earth,” Melroy said.

Nelson and Melroy were in Australia during the week of March 20 for NASA’s “historic” trip to Australia.

The duo also took the opportunity to urge the Albanese government to provide further funding for the Australian space sector.

This comes amid concerns the Australian Space Agency has been losing momentum in local projects since the agency’s establishment nearly five years ago.

Another concern is China, whom Nelson said was behaving in a “very secretive, very non-transparent” manner in space. Nelson said that China refused to cooperate with the international space community, particularly on safety matters.

Nelson added that there was growing international interest in returning to the moon, including from China.

“There is a lot of excitement among our competitors that want to go there, and they want to get there before we do,” he said.

Australia Well Positioned in Scientific Expertise To Work With NASA

In 2021, the Australian federal government and NASA signed a deal that would see an Australian-made semi-autonomous rover and Australian researchers sent for a lunar mission in 2026.

Melroy said the autonomous rover would be Australia’s first opportunity to leverage its strong robotic capability.

“... if you can run a facility from 3000 km away in Perth, somewhere in the Pilbara, think it is going to be a piece of cake to do it on the moon,” she said.

“That looks pretty hard to me, and I’ve seen some extraordinary capabilities.

“So bringing all those to bear, this is the Trailblazer program is an investment in the future, and I believe that Australia will be known for that capability in the future.

“If we believe there is a true commercial market for capability, launch would be a great example for that … well-understood business model around that, we can invest and partner on the technical capability that we need, but then take advantage of economies of scale.

“When there’s other customers, it brings the price down for everybody, and in space, those economies are significant.”

The Morrison government said in 2021 that the rover would be used on an exploration mission that could also see the development of sustained human presence off the earth.

However, ABC reported that momentum has stalled since the establishment of the Australian Space Agency in 2018.

Space Industry Association chief executive, James Brown, said Australia should not pass up an opportunity to let a fellow citizen travel into space, reported the ABC.

“Australia has missed so many opportunities to get our people into space in recent decades,” Brown said.

“Now NASA is doing everything it possibly can to get an Australian astronaut into space. All it takes is Australian political will and some modest funding.

“Nothing will inspire a generation of Australians to study science more than having one of our own astronauts.”

Albanese Government Urge to Uphold Coalition’s Policy

Meanwhile, there are concerns that a Space Strategic Update (SSU), which was supposed to be completed by the Coalition in 2022, has also stalled.

The Space Strategic Update (SSU), now known as the National Space Plan, was to provide a vision through to the 2040s of a schedule of space programs and investment opportunities the government would use to develop Australia’s space base.

However, Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s space policy expert, Malcolm Davis, said there had been a lack of focus in the area, reported the ABC.

“It’s a pretty shallow perspective that says just because a previous government launched a policy doesn’t mean we have to accept it whilst ignoring the very real benefits of that policy,” Davis said.

“If the national space policy isn’t completed, then many Australian space companies may lose faith in this government’s commitment to space and could simply relocate overseas.

“Jobs will be lost, our reputation damaged, and trust is gone. We'll really struggle to get that trust back.”

Ed Husic, who is the Federal Minister for Industry and Science, did not commit to a timeframe as to when the SSU would be completed.

“I don’t necessarily think that just because a former Government, if you can appreciate, has decided to do something doesn’t mean that I automatically or us as a Government automatically takes that on board,” he said on March 22 at the National Press Conference.

“In some cases, we’ll make those assessments case by case. In terms of space, there will be a huge opportunity, for instance, with the National Reconstruction Fund.

“I can assure you the National Reconstruction Fund will be open to supporting investment in space activity, particularly through the priority area of enabling capabilities, but could easily go into a lot of other areas as well.”

A recent Senate Economic Legislative Committee recommended that the space sector should be eligible for funding through the Albanese government’s proposed $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund.