Two consortia to build Aussie designed lunar rover

Two separate space, technology and resources led consortia have been awarded $8 million by the Australian Space Agency to design and develop lunar rovers for NASA’s return to the surface of the Moon mission in 2026.

Following a competitive tender issued in June 2021 for Stage 1 of the Trailblazer program, the AROSE (Australian Remote Operations in Space and on Earth) consortium and the EPE and Lunar Outpost Oceania consortium will each receive $4 million to create and design preliminary prototypes of a semi-autonomous rover.

The consortia are pitted against each other for delivery of the initial design and prototype slated for June 2024 when the winner will move onto Stage 2.

NASA requested that Australia provide the lunar rover based on our local resource industry’s leading expertise in remote operations and automation technology.

The Trailblazer program aims to foster Australia’s robotics and automation capability, aligning with the development of the Australian Government’s National Robotics Strategy.

“Programs like Trailblazer are important to growing our space sector, as well as our know-how in robotics and automation," Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic said.

"It also has an important role to play in inspiring more young Australians to consider STEM careers,” Husic added.

The NASA Moon to Mars mission is scheduled for 2026.

On that mission, he Australian rover will make its debut in supporting a sustainable human presence on the Moon and future missions to Mars.

"Drawing on Australia’s world leading remote operations, the rover will collect lunar soil, known as regolith, and deliver it to a NASA payload, which will attempt to extract oxygen from the sample,” Husic added.

Both consortia feature a mix of Australian and multi-national space and technology specialists, space start-ups, major resources companies, universities, and other research partners.

"Trailblazer provides Australia with a once in a generation opportunity to stimulate our sovereign space industry, create jobs in Australia and support the growth of industries," AROSE chair David Flanagan said.

"Space technologies and capabilities will increasingly become a critical driver of Australian exports, jobs and economic competitiveness."

"What we learn in space will bring significant advancements across many sectors including resources, agriculture, health, manufacturing and utilities,” Flanagan added.

The AROSE consortium is led by multinational geodata company Fugro, the creator of Australia’s Space Automation, AI & Robotics Control Complex (SpAARC) in West Australia where development will take place along South Australia based Nova Systems, an Australian-owned engineering services and technology solutions company will 

Resource companies Woodside Energy and Rio Tinto are also supporting AROSE via knowledge transfer of their terrestrial robotic and automation capabilities.

Nova Systems Australia and New Zealand managing director Adam Smith said that programs like this help companies like ours retain vital skills and talent within Australia.

The EPE & Lunar Outpost Oceania Consortium includes BHP, Northrop Grumman Australia, RMIT University’s Space Industry Hub and the University of Melbourne’s Space Laboratory. Additionally the University of Adelaide, Inovor, Australian National University, Element Robotics, Colorado School of Mines and Saber Astronautics will contribute, and local industry collaborators include Titomic, One Giant Leap, VIPAC and CD3D.

The announcement was made during the visit of NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pamela Melroy at the Australian Space Agency in Adelaide and Canberra.