WA mining tech key to NASA moon colony

Technology developed for Western Australia’s mines and gas platforms will play a crucial role in building living quarters on the moon for NASA’s US$93 billion Artemis program.

The Artemis program seeks to put the first woman on the moon, set up a permanent research colony on the lunar surface, and use it as a base to explore Mars.

Leading a large US contingent at the Indo-Pacific Space and Earth Conference on Monday, NASA deep space exploration associate administrator Jim Free said Australia would be called on for its expertise in autonomous operations.

“Australia is home to world-class facilities that train, test and control remote and autonomous operations from the deep sea to deep space,” he said.

“The foundational services rover that Australia is developing is a great example of… cutting edge robotics and remote operations technology.

“The rover’s slated for launch in just a few years will represent a significant step towards a sustainable human presence on the moon and preparing future missions to Mars.”

The AROSE-developed foundational services rover will be used to do the groundwork for lunar infrastructure and feed a NASA resource processing plant.

Mr Free described Artemis as history’s most diverse space exploration coalition and a project which would “see our children take the first steps on the red planet”.

He said WA would “directly” contribute to remote operations for the program.

“We are going to have a lot of hardware on the surface of the moon, which is a wonderful thing to say,” Mr Free said.

“We need those things to operate, increase our efficiency, to drive our safety.

“The less we put our crews out in hazardous environments, the safer we are.”

Among robots being tested in WA with potential applications for Artemis is Valkyrie, a NASA-developed humanoid robot being tested by Woodside Energy to improve efficiency and safety.

Valkyrie was deployed by NASA in July this year with an eye to better understanding the demands on robots operating in dirty and hazardous conditions, such as those found on the moon.

NASA launched Artemis I in 2022 to test the most powerful rocket ever built and fly further than any human-helmed spacecraft had flown.

The second Artemis launch is scheduled for November 2024 and will be the first manned flight under the program.

Three further launches are penciled in by the end of the decade to establish NASA’s lunar presence.