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NASA to boost Australian bases

Lyndal Curtis and Thea Cowie

NASA will build two new space tracking dishes worth about $100 million as part of its ongoing commitment to Australian bases.

The announcement of the facilities, to be built at the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex over the next six years, comes 50 years after Australia first collaborated with NASA.

NASA's Dr Charles Elachi said the decision to continue to invest in Australia was simple.

"We felt that the friendly relationship between our two countries and the scientific capability in Australia made it a no-brainer," he said.

"Australia is world-renowned in the field of radio astronomy. You have some of the best scientists and engineers in the world."

Dr Elachi says Australia will benefit from the partnership too.

"We have been developing techniques in the US to use satellites to monitor where hot places are, so we can help citizens move away from the [fire] hazard and tell firefighters where to go despite all the smoke," he said.

"By putting instruments on the space station which can see in infra-red and go through the cloud and smoke cover."

NASA technology mapping soil moisture on a large scale could also help farmers.

The five Australian sites shared between NASA and the CSIRO are used as satellite communication bases during space missions and astronomy research.

Highlights over the past 50 years have included the Mars rover and the Apollo moon missions.

Since the 1960s, the US government has invested $610 million in its Australian facilities, giving jobs to Australian scientists and allowing them to access cutting-edge expertise.

The latest Space Vehicle Tracking and Communications Facilities agreement will stand for two years while a long-term strategic treaty is developed.

Dr Charles Elachi says he is looking forward to another 50 years of partnership.

"Australia is an integral part of our space exploration," he said.

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