On April 1, 2026, NASA is sending astronauts back around the Moon. And Australia is playing a critical role in helping them get there.
Four astronauts will launch from Florida, bound for the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft. Similar to the 1968 Apollo 8 spaceflight, the Artemis II mission will orbit the Moon without landing, to test the spacecraft and the systems that support it. It paves the way for the next Artemis missions, with an eventual crewed Moon landing slated for early 2028.
Today’s mission will also mark the first time a Black astronaut, a female astronaut, and a non-American (a Canadian) will travel to the Moon system.
Throughout the journey, ground stations in Australia will track the spacecraft and maintain communications. This vital support not only underscores Australia’s space strengths but also encourages us to consider Australia’s own direction in space.
A long history of support
Australia’s support of NASA space exploration has a long history. A series of tracking stations around Australia was essential to US President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing a person on the Moon by the end of the 1960s.
As part of NASA’s mammoth human spaceflight efforts, facilities were established around Australia – in Western Australia, Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
Indeed, Australia hosted more tracking stations than any other country outside the United States, a contribution memorably celebrated in the 2001 film The Dish.
While much celebrated, even after 60 years, there’s still much to learn about Australia’s role in putting the first person on the Moon. Much of the archival record of Australian tracking stations during the Apollo era remains inaccessible in Department of Defense storage, rather than having been transferred to the National Archives.
Australia’s contribution to NASA’s space efforts continued past the Apollo program through the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex at Tidbinbilla, now managed by CSIRO.
This station has operated continuously since the 1970s as part of NASA’s Deep Space Network, which consists of three stations in the ACT, Spain, and California. Combined, these stations have supported all of NASA’s deep space exploration missions.
Through it, Australia has played a role in well-known missions such as the Voyager exploration of the outer Solar System and the more recent New Horizons mission to Pluto.
How Australia is helping Artemis
Today, Australia’s role as host to tracking stations makes it vital for all communications with the Artemis II mission.
Mission controllers in Houston, Texas, talk to the astronauts; data about the spacecraft (telemetry) and science data are returned to Earth in huge quantities; and video is beamed back to millions.
Two networks enable this communication. First, the Near Space Network handles communication with the spacecraft during launch and low Earth orbit.
Second, the Deep Space Network takes over when the spacecraft is in high Earth orbit and for the voyage to and from the Moon.
At the Canberra station, huge dishes between 34 and 64 meters across are capable of transmitting and receiving huge quantities of data from Orion. These dishes are particularly important given that the ten-day mission is expected to be the farthest crewed mission from Earth in history.
Even when the Moon and Artemis II are on the other side of Earth relative to Canberra, the system’s global integration means Australian staff remotely operate other facilities when staff there are asleep, or vice versa.
In preparation for this mission, Australian staff at the tracking station outside Canberra have been training for years. Significant upgrades were also completed before the 2022 uncrewed mission, Artemis I.
Further afield, Australians are also involved in developing new methods of communication with far-flung spacecraft. During this mission, the Australian National University will also assist in the mission’s objectives. Scientists will test laser communications with the spacecraft from the Mount Stromlo Observatory outside Canberra.
An upward trajectory for Australia
Australia’s contribution to Artemis II comes at a moment of sustained public interest in space. The prominence of figures such as astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, recently awarded Australian of the Year, has ensured space activity remains in the national spotlight.
The Australian Space Agency has sought to grow Australia’s space efforts in a variety of ways, including through the Artemis Accords. Signed by Australia in 2020, this US-led agreement establishes shared principles for civil space exploration that will return the US and partners to the Moon.
Part of Australia’s contribution will be the development of an A$42 million lunar rover, named Roo-ver. This will launch on a future NASA mission.
All this shows Australia has been gradually moving upward in space for a long time. Where the space efforts go from here will depend on a range of factors, including government policy and the capabilities of local industry and research institutions.
Public opinion is vital, given the cost of space exploration. A recent public opinion survey shows Australians are supportive of space activities, if unsure about the country’s direction.
As the four NASA astronauts travel around the Moon, Australia is also presented with an opportunity to talk about its own important role in space, and the future direction the country might take.
Tristan Moss, Senior Lecturer in History, UNSW Sydney
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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