15th Australian Space Forum

The space sector in Australia is experiencing unprecedented growth as industry, academia, and government work together to expand their activities and develop international relationships for ongoing opportunity and success within the space economy. Forum sessions include international panels covering highly pertinent topics that shape our industry. 

The 15th Australian Space Forum – By Industry For Industry
The Australian Space Forum, the national premier space event created by industry for industry, is the bi-annual flagship event of the Andy Thomas Space Foundation (ATSF). As a Not-for-profit, the Foundation proudly invests all funds received through the Forum to advancing national space education programs.

The 15th Australian Space Forum will highlight two key themes: Space Cooperation in the Asia Pacific region (including significant representation from the Japanese Space Agency) and an update on Australia’s space capabilities.

Asia Pacific Regional Cooperation
Recent global turbulence, evident through frequent natural disasters, dynamic geopolitical landscapes and increasingly prevalent gaps in sovereign supply chains promotes the importance of strong international collaboration. Space plays a critical role in inspiring national capability development, addressing earth and space-based technological challenges for population wellbeing and advancing mitigation and management strategies for foreseeable threats.

United by common challenges and goals, the development of a strengthened regional global space network offers vast scope for sector growth and advancement. The Australian Space Forum will bring together Space leaders from within the local Asia Pacific region to discuss the importance of and current initiatives for regional cooperation.

Building Australia’s Space Capabilities
Australia and its population have become highly dependent on space-based services. However, Australian access to space is heavily reliant on the use of international capabilities. This lack of sovereign technologies offers both limitations and opportunities for the addressing security, economic and environmental challenges. Concerns around sovereign access are being considered by Australian Federal and State Governments, Industry and Academia, whom are working together to develop appropriate technologies and capabilities.

The Australian Space Forum will provide in-depth briefings on the current status and proposed future opportunities available to address space capability development, including:

• Sovereign Space Launch Capabilities
• Australian Space Agency Space Infrastructure Fund Projects
• Federal Modern Manufacturing Initiatives
• University Trailblazer Programs
• Other Significant Space Infrastructure – Overview

JAXA Participation
A significant JAXA delegation will participate in the 15th Australian Space Forum, continuing to build the strong relationship between Australia and Japan. A highlight of the Forum will be the Keynote address on the JAXA MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission.

MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) is a mission to explore the Martian moons.

Australia has partnered with Japan on an innovative new mission to Mars. The JAXA MMX spacecraft will land on Phobos, one of the moons of Mars, to collect samples which might hold the key to unlock further information about the birth of our solar system. The craft will complete its mission and return to land in Woomera, South Australia with its precious samples in 2029. Dr Masaki Fujimoto from JAXA will provide a keynote address on the JAXA MXX mission.