THE Australian space industry is set for lift-off.
The Federal Government is paving the way for Australian companies to become key players in the global space economy, currently worth US$350b and expected to be valued at more than US$1.1t by 2040.
The flow-on effects will reach other markets such as mining, agriculture, finance, health and tourism.
In this article, we look at what this means for Australian resources companies.
NASA’s Moon to Mars Mission
Man first landed on the Moon in 1969 through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Apollo 11 mission.
In Greek mythology, Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo.
Now, more than half a century later and through the Artemis program, NASA aims to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024 and build a sustainable human lunar presence for further exploration of the lunar surface.
Crew members will live on the spaceship Gateway that will orbit the Moon and they will take multiple trips down to the lunar surface to conduct explorations and undertake science investigations and technology experiments.
Robotics and Automation
According to a 2019 AlphaBeta report, the adoption of digital automation technologies in the mining, oil and gas industries has the potential to add $74b in value to the national economy by 2030 and create more than 80,000 new jobs.
The report, entitled “Staying ahead of the game”, was commissioned by the Industry Growth Centres for Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS Ignited) and National Energy Resources Australia (NERA).
It states that by about 2025, mining and oil and gas companies will have likely entered a new phase to create the fully integrated and automated mine or plant, and that around 2030, companies will continue to automate their production to realise very large benefits from technology integration.
“Robotics and automation on Earth and in space” has also been identified as a key priority area in the Australian Space Agency’s (ASA) Civil Space Strategy 2019-28.
Released in April 2019, the strategy outlines a 10-year plan to guide the growth and secure the future of Australia’s space sector.
The ASA was set up in 2018 and is headed by Dr Megan Clark AC, former chief executive of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and non-executive director of Rio Tinto.
The $150m Moon to Mars initiative was launched by the ASA in late 2019 to provide an opportunity for local businesses and researchers to showcase their space capabilities to the world, some of which are already in use in the resources sector.
This investment, over five years, aims to position Australia as a key player in the NASA Moon to Mars mission, such as the Artemis project and the Lunar Gateway.
“No other industry can inspire nations quite like space, where human ambition can set its sights on interplanetary missions, colonisation beyond Earth and the opportunity of finding new life,” Dr Clark said.
“Some may argue that Australia may be late to the party, but we are entering a time where the space sector is moving from the realm of government to the commercial world.”
ASA deputy head, Anthony Murfett, says Australia is already a world leader in remote asset management, the use of automation and robotics in the resources sector.
“The distance, resources and environmental hazards in space mean that activities will not always be tended to by humans and will need to be managed remotely,” he said.
“The ability to control equipment and activities at a distance and in harsh conditions here in Australia replicates some of the conditions required to be able to operate in space.
“There are also a range of other areas including mineral identification using satellite data, the application of artificial intelligence and the scientific exploration of resources, all of which are needed to support activities in space,” Mr Murfett added.
The ASA Moon to Mars initiative is divided into different sub-programs: Supply Chain, Demonstrator and Trailblazer.
The Supply Chain program, offered through grants and facilitation, aims to deliver products and services into domestic and international space supply chains. The Demonstrator program provides a pathway to develop and launch products that will create new capability and enable new business ventures, revenue streams or markets.
The Trailblazer program is the ASA’s inspirational flagship program, with the aim of contributing Australian capability within an international space exploration program.
Potential opportunities through the Trailblazer space exploration program include autonomous systems, next generation communications, components on lunar probes or vehicles as well as scientific investigations using mineral and other substances on the Moon.
Local companies can leverage automation, robotics, sensors and artificial intelligence applications to sustain part of the operations on a lunar infrastructure during long un-crewed periods.
The support of significant new communication pathways between Earth, the Moon and beyond will also be critical, as will space-hardened technologies that are adapted for lunar activities.
These activities could include carrying out scientific investigations using minerals and other substances on the Moon and other celestial bodies in appropriate quantities.
“Supporting exploration deeper into our Solar system like Mars requires resources such as water to provide fuel and nutrition, as well as the resources in situ to support the development of infrastructure,” Mr Murfett said.
“The ability to extract water can support sustainable operations in space, as well as become the building blocks for fuel.
“It is expected to be much cheaper to use resources in space than transport them from the surface of the Earth. Importantly, the next five years will involve the piloting and proof of concept that these capabilities can work in space.
“Australia is well-positioned to support these activities as many of our technologies are already in use in remote and harsh terrains, meaning there is less of a leap to show the technology can work in space.”
Federal Government Investment
Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, said the Federal Government is getting behind Australian businesses so they can take advantage of the pipeline work NASA has committed to.
“We’re backing Australian businesses to the Moon, and even Mars, and back,” the Prime Minister said.
“There is enormous opportunity for Australia’s space sector which is why we want to triple its size to $12 billion to create around 20,000 extra jobs by 2030.
“The growing amount of space sector work and innovation will also inspire the next generation to see the future of a career in these fields for the long term.”
The Australian space sector has grown 10.1% over the last five years and is forecast for 7.1% over the next five years, outpacing GDP at 2.7%.
Federal Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Karen Andrews, says the booming Australian space industry will also benefit everyday Australians.
“The space industry is a key growth sector that will form an important part of our economic recovery and help us emerge from the COVID-19 crisis stronger than ever,” Minister Andrews said.
“Investment in the space sector not only supports the creation of high-tech jobs here in Australia, but also develops technologies that can support other areas of competitive advantage for our nation including agriculture and mining.
“This support will strengthen Australian business and university connections with international industry and space agencies, helping our businesses to prove themselves on the global stage and potentially secure more work in the future.”
Australian Consortium
The Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth (AROSE) was set up in February 2020, one of two new industry-led collaborations through the NERA, to map and position Australia’s world-leading remote operations capability.
The AROSE consortium consists of 42 industry, academia and government organisations and is led by founding members Woodside Energy, Nova Systems, Fugro, Curtin University and the University of WA.
AROSE director and former NASA astronaut, Colonel Pamela Melroy, says this is a unique opportunity to leverage Australia’s existing expertise in remote operations.
“There is a real potential to have a direct and significant impact on international space missions such as Artemis and Lunar Gateway,” she said.
“As an astronaut, I was an operator and I was deeply interested in technology solutions that had the ability to increase the productivity and reliability of our mission.”
Another spokesperson for AROSE said the vision for the near term is to limit human presence to only what is necessary.
“The space industry can benefit from the experience and technology of the aerospace industry, which has been supporting remote operations for decades through systems engineering, large and complex projects, dexterous robotics and autonomous air vehicles,” the spokesperson said.
Woodside Executive Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer Shaun Gregory said Woodside was already a leader in remote operations in WA, having operated offshore facilities remotely for a number of years and collaborated with other industry partners and government agencies to further develop its capabilities.
“Woodside is contributing $1.5m and additional in-kind support to AROSE to establish WA as a global provider of remote operations capability on Earth and in space.”
Another Woodside spokesperson confirmed the additional in-kind support would be provided in the form of employee time.
“Our plan is to accelerate the development of technology solutions that further enable safe and efficient asset operations and management in remote and harsh conditions for use within and outside our sector, both on and off Earth,” the spokesperson said.
Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto 4.0 Pioneer Lab member, Gavin Gillett, who is part of the mining giant’s forward-thinking team tasked with assessing what the world looks like beyond 2030, believes the space industry will fundamentally challenge the way mining is done.
“What interests me about Artemis is the potential for accelerating key technologies that will allow us in the mining industry to achieve a more specific, targeted, environmentally-aware and sustainable mining industry,” he said.
“I like to imagine the future of mining looks something like termite mounds in the desert where I grew up. Tiny machines going in the ground autonomously, using advanced remote sensing to detect pure elements and bringing them to the surface without disturbing the ground too much. No more giant pits in the ground, no huge machines. The future of mining looks [like this to me] – small and extremely specific.”
Mr Gillett says the Moon’s surface is rich in resources, from solar wind volatiles and precious metals, to iron and ferroalloy metals, as well as non-ferrous metals and non-metals, among others.
“These minerals are mixed very well into the regolith, pulverised for billions of years by asteroids, and they are like grains of sand, all of which require separating into their individual elements, including water, which is in granule form,” he says.
“There is so much more to explore and to understand about Earth’s closest planetary object, but firstly, in order to thrive in space, we need to learn how to live off the land through in-situ resource utilisation.
“The plan is to send autonomous machines ahead of people, to find and extract resources and then build the structure required for human habitation, so we no longer need to bring everything from Earth to survive.
“The short-term focus is extracting water from the Moon for propulsion and drinking water, after which the next goal is mining platinum-grade metals, for example titanium, that can be readily 3D-printed into structures. Entire structures could be 3D-printed in future using resources that are detected, mined and smelted into filament from a single or collection of small machines.
“The disruption potential of these technologies is huge because, whoever creates the agnostic systems for mining off-world, creates a system that could work anywhere in the solar system.”
“Finding life and resources on other planetary bodies could also mean potentially trillions of dollars for pharmaceutical and chemical companies.”
Extra-Terrestial Minerals
University of NSW and the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSER) director, Professor Andrew Dempster, says the global shift towards a low-carbon economy sees an increase in demand for renewable energy technology, leading to a rise in the minerals used in their manufacture.
“Earth’s resources are finite and the global tolerance for extracting minerals from the Earth is getting lower,” he said. “Alternatives, such as extracting these minerals from space, need to be examined.”
Critical minerals including lithium, gallium, selenium, silver, indium, tellurium and rare earth elements (REE) are vulnerable to disruptions due to geological scarcity, geopolitical issues, trade policy or other factors.
“Many of these critical minerals are abundant in extra-terrestrial bodies, particularly near-Earth asteroids and the Moon, and the possibility of extracting resources from in space is now closer to reality than ever,” Prof Dempster said.
“It offers a clear pathway to bypass many of the supply chain risks associated with producing critical minerals from Earth.”
A total of 22,000 near-Earth asteroids have been identified to-date that are of interest from a space resources perspective.
“Asteroids contain minerals such as silicates, iron, nickel and other types of metals, and some are also highly enriched in platinum compared to the Earth’s crust, making them attractive targets for platinum extraction.
“Earth’s Moon is abundant in elements including iron, titanium, magnesium, aluminium, calcium, platinum, potassium, rare earth elements and phosphorous.”
Prof Dempster also says the aim for the space industry over the next five years is to extract water from the Moon to convert into fuel.
This fuel will then take the launch vehicle further to Mars and back.
University of NSW Phd candidate, Nicholas Bennett, performs cost analysis on space programs and says that the current projected costs of sending raw materials to the Moon’s vicinity are between US$20,000-US$40,000/kg.
Mr Bennett says the future of mining in space will be small, remotely operated mines that generate big revenue streams, by selling to space-based enterprises.
“Right now, there is a market for propellant, valued at about US$360 m per annum, that could be supplied from the Moon, for assisting geosynchronous satellites into orbit,” he said.
“That would require the extraction of water for propellant from about 4,000t of regolith or dusty sand per annum.
“It’s almost the size a small mine but the market has been very steady, if unrecognised, over the last 20 years.”
Mr Bennett says the world is now entering a period where space transportation costs are beginning to drop dramatically after remaining stagnant for a few decades.
“The cost of transporting equipment for the small mine to the Moon, in order to mine the regolith required for propellant, might cost US$350m now but, with the reduction in transport costs over time, it could have a projected cost of US$35m,” he said.
“Although individual elements of the mining operation will be expensive relative to their terrestrial counterparts, the mine will be on a much smaller scale with much higher value output.”
The Future
The space sector forms a significant part of the fourth industrial revolution, where the rise of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing and other technologies merge into our physical, biological and everyday worlds.
SpaceX founder, Elon Musk, says the company’s model of reusability will drive down the cost of space access through reusing and reflying the most expensive parts of the rocket. Musk also believes that, in his mission to make mankind multiplanetary, we will see the creation of the first human colony on Mars in this lifetime.
Japanese lunar exploration company, ispace, will begin sending its small and lightweight rovers to the Moon from 2023 for surface exploration and to find a site for a future manned Moon base.
The company’s 2040 vision is to have 1000 humans living on the Moon in a self-sustaining lunar city called Moon Valley with 10,000 visitors every year.
Mankind is pushing ahead with space exploration in a global concerted effort to search for minerals and new life to make the human species sustainable and increase our likelihood of survival beyond Earth.
