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New Zealand Minister for Space, Judith Collins, has announced four new research projects under the Australia-New Zealand Collaborative Space Program.
Among the expected outcomes is a project to monitor the southern Indo Pacific from space, including methane and other greenhouse gas emissions.
The news was delivered as part of Collins’ speech at the 17th Australian Space Forum in Adelaide, South Australia.
‘Space is one of the most exciting areas of trans-Tasman collaboration that has emerged in recent years,’ she said.
‘Our partnership took a very significant step in January this year, when the New Zealand Space Agency signed an agreement with Australia’s SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre.’
New Zealand contributed $6m.
‘The projects speak to our shared vision of driving innovation and developing capabilities that will not only benefit our respective countries, but also contribute to global advancements in space technology.’
The projects, which are set to begin in August 2024, include research into monitoring methane emissions; enhancing real-time monitoring of greenhouse gases; managing free space optical communication nodes across Australia and New Zealand; improving the tracking of space objects, and developing a joint AUS-NZ concept for maritime domain awareness.
Collins also says the partnership is calling for proposals from Australian and New Zealand research organisations and companies for joint feasibility studies on Earth Observation.
‘This further funding is an opportunity to harness our complimentary resources and expertise to solve challenges faced by our agricultural, farming and Indigenous communities. Four proposals will be accepted for a 6-month feasibility study before being evaluated for investment in the 2nd phase.’
With up to A$100,000 for Australia-based research activities, or up to NZ$100,000 for New Zealand-based research activities, the funding aims to develop innovative research and development projects that will drive the growth of the space industry in both countries.
Imma Perfetto is a science journalist at Cosmos. She has a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Science Communication from the University of Adelaide.
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