Moon to Mars Initiative Demonstrator Mission Grants - grant recipients
View a list of applicants that have been offered funding under the Moon to Mars Initiative Demonstrator Mission Grants.
| Recipient organisation | Project title | Project information | Grant amount (excluding GST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Navigation Pty. Ltd. | Project LUNA – Navigation and Guidance Technology for Lunar Exploration | Project LUNA (Laser measurement Unit for Navigational Aid) will demonstrate the performance and capability of the mature Australian LiDAV technology, opening doors to integrate the technology to space transportation, infrastructure, and operations service providers. The technology will be given the ultimate demonstration and evaluation, operating on board Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander, during controlled descent and landing on the lunar surface. Project LUNA will enable rapid integration into landers from 2025-26, enabling exploration of unreached regions of the Moon and beyond to Mars. | $5,272,805 |
| Australian National University | Laser Technology for the next GRACE mission | This project will produce laser stabilization flight technology for next generation gravity sensing missions. It extends the successful collaboration on the GRACE Follow-On mission to develop space flight technology for the next GRACE missions. This industry/academia collaboration, working closely with international partners, leverages Australia's world leading defence and technology capabilities of CEA to benefit its space sector and will unlock access to global markets in satellite and communications for Australian companies. | $6,205,670 |
| Australian National University | Australian Deep Space Optical Ground Station Network | In this project, an ANU-led consortium with partners Liquid Instruments, Platypus Instruments and SSC Australia will establish the first Australian deep space communication-capable optical ground station by upgrading the ANU optical ground station (OGS) to be compatible with NASA’s Optical to Orion (O2O) mission. The project will pave the way for a future commercial optical communication service by supporting laser links to missions in LEO, Lunar, and Deep-Space orbits and demonstrating cross-continental optical networking between the ANU deep space OGS and a SSC OGS under construction in WA. This is the first step to establishing Australia as a leading provider of secure satellite links for a large and growing market. | $4,504,007 |
| Enable Aerospace Pty. Ltd. | Universal Payload Racking System Flight Qualification and Demonstration | The key project activities are to finalise the Universal Payload Racking System (UPRS) designs developed in the ASA co-funded Feasibility Study, engage the Australian manufacturing and supply chain to produce Flight hardware, complete Qualification testing of hardware for human rated space flight, to flight demonstrate the UPRS to Sierra Space and potential customers and to demonstrate EA’s capability to support Moon to Mars objectives. These activities will complete the development and flight demonstration of the Universal Payload Racking System, mitigating identified risks and proving capability, while growing our partnership with Sierra Space. It will also address key objectives required for the commercialization and revenue generation activities for Universal Payload Racking System and the Australian Space industry. | $2,777,423 |
| Fleet Space Technologies Pty Ltd | Seismic Payload for Interplanetary Discovery, Exploration and Research | Fleet will deploy a miniature three component seismic station on the lunar surface to record continuous seismic data for up to 14-days. Fleet's device will be launched on board a commercial lander with the intention to land on the lunar surface within the Schrodinger Crater. The device will remain tethered to the lander for power and communications and will use its ultra-compact three-component micro-electromechanical systems accelerometer to record seismic data while resting on the lunar surface to provide information about the lunar crust from surface to 1km depth. The successful delivery of this project will demonstrate the ability to produce miniature geophysical devices for future lunar & Martian geophysical exploration missions. | $3,916,490 |
| Lunaria One Pty Ltd | Australian Lunar Experiment Promoting Horticulture (ALEPH) | The ALEPH project, 2022-2026 will demonstrate the design, build and test of two ALEPH-1 EM and FM versions, and other related engineering qualification models within Australia, delivery of an engineering model (EM) space qualified flight model (FM) to the spacecraft integrator as per the schedule, coordinate data download, including reception, curation and web dissemination of data, including images of plant seedlings whilst the payload is on the lunar surface; internal temperature; other sensor outputs, perform an outreach campaign involving web broadcast and other activities, and hold two workshops, one in 2023/24 and the other in 2026. The achievement of this mission will increase the capability and prestige of Lunaria One and its partners. | $3,617,564 |
| Myriota Pty. Ltd | Communications Payload for Off-world Internet of Things | Myriota will develop a compact low-cost Australian-designed communications payload able to support IoT services in harsh off-world environments by providing resilient, flexible and scalable radio communications. The payload design will target low lunar orbit deployment. The project will expand sovereign capabilities to support future off-world missions delivered via advanced technologies, leveraging Myriota’s existing global IoT service. | $1,506,690 |
| QuantX Labs Pty Ltd | KAIROS-1: Space Clock Technology Demonstrator | The Kairos-1 Mission will build a next-generation atomic clock and place it in orbit. To de-risk this ambitious plan, we will conduct two other earlier launches to demonstrate space operation of key components of the atomic clock. We will work with available launch partners (such as DST) to obtain access to those launches at low or zero cost. Kairos-1 will result in Australia launching one of the globe’s most complex quantum devices into orbit. We will verify the clock performance and be able to demonstrate its superiority against current space based GNSS clocks. Clocks are key underpinning resource for navigation, timing synchronisation and numerous other space activities – this mission will place Australia and QuantX at the forefront of that. | $3,725,160 |
| Raytracer Pty Ltd | Command and Control for On-orbit Servicing, Assembly & Manufacturing Vehicles | In 2024, Raytracer will partner with Optus to launch their CARBON command-and-control software on an Optus led, world-first On-orbit Servicing, Assembly & Manufacturing (OSAM) mission. The mission will deliver a Mission Robotic Vehicle and Extension Pod to Optus’s D3 satellite, providing a further six years of life of extension. Key activities for this space project include the design, development, testing, integration, and support of CARBON through the mission phases, and ready for mission operations by late 2024. Undertaking these activities will demonstrate Raytracer’s CARBON technology operating with the Optus D3 satellite in GEO, before CARBON moves onto future Lunar and Mars remote operations missions in 2025 and beyond. | $2,888,655 |
| University of Melbourne | SpIRIT satellite operations: An Australian path to exploration beyond Earth | This project supports in-orbit operations of the SpIRIT satellite, a spacecraft developed as the first mission funded by the Australian Space Agency and ready to fly by end of 2023. The first platform of Inovor Technologies and a Neumann Space thruster will be commissioned and operated in space, learning from their in-orbit performance to redesign next generation products ready for applications beyond Earth orbit. SpIRIT will also operate an Italian Space Agency payload, contributing to the international reputation of the Australian space sector as a reliable supplier. 25+ early career engineers and students across five companies will gain hands-on work experience, and the images captured by SpIRIT will inspire the public. | $2,656,305 |
| University of Western Australia | Establishing a Commercial Optical Communications Ground Station Network | This project will establish ‘TeraNet’, a three-node commercial optical communications ground station network in Australia. All three nodes of TeraNet will support low-Earth orbit communications using the ‘O3K’ standard, with the network commissioned using the German Space Agency’s OSIRIS on-orbit optical terminals. Advanced communications technologies deployed in TeraNet, including lunar, coherent, timing, and quantum, will enable demonstrations with additional NASA and German Space Agency in-space elements. The project includes extended training, engagement, and operations programs. All project partners will benefit through the long-term commercial operation of TeraNet and in supporting inspirational international space missions. | $4,403,973 |
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