Decadal Plan for Australian Space Science Released

The much anticipated Decadal Plan for Australian Space Science has been released at the 10th Australian Space Science Conference. For those interested in reading the plan - head over to the Australian Academy of Science's webpage here - "Decadal Plan for Australian Space Science – Building a National Presence in Space".

The plan, which has been in development for around 5 years, has had input from almost all of the top Space Science minds in Australia and intents to establish Australia back as a player in both Space Science and the broader Space Domain.

The Plan's vision is to: 'Build Australia a long term, productive presence in Space via world-leading innovative space science and technology, strong education and outreach, and international collaborations'.

The 10-year plan, which was released by the National Committee for Space Science is calling for a modest $140 million (over 10 years) to undertake a series of projects that would deliver benefits to Australia, and to the global scientific community.

Overall, the plan foresees 3 main projects to assist in improving capabilities in Australia in the long term, including:

• SpaceShip Australis – a state-of-the-art ground-based network to measure, model, and predict space weather from the Sun to the ground, and support the proposed Square Kilometer Array.
• Marabibi Constellation – a flexible program of low-cost satellites that link with SpaceShip Australis and provide world-first, student-focused, research on space weather, technology, and the Earth.
• Sundiver – a spacecraft that will dive into the Sun to answer fundamental questions on the Sun’s supersonic wind and hot corona.

In addition to this, the plan proposes many of the broader administration structures necessary to assist and develop the plan, including the set-up of what is called  "Coordination of Australian Space Science Ltd (CASS Ltd)" and a "National Institute for Space Science". It will certainly be interesting how the current efforts by the Australian Space Policy Unit will take these recommendations in particular into account, and what role / impact they may have on the creation of a future Australian Space Agency.

Interestingly enough, the report points out that the cost of the plan is "Less than $1 per Australian, per year". In the scheme of things, a very small, and highly valuable investment for Australia to make.

There is no doubt that this document will be one of the biggest influences upon Australian Space Policy development and future government thinking on Space direction, as it represents many years of hard work from the Space Science community, and within this plan they have achieved strong consensus based on their wide and lengthy consultation with all parties.

All things going well, this could be the true catalyst for Australia to get back into the Space game. What this plan has achieved beyond just consensus, is a plan that is truly affordable to Australia, one that addresses Australian unique needs as well as one that leverages Australia's niche strengths.  It also provides a long term vision for the sector to rally around, and provides for several structural initiatives that will sustain the sector in the mid to long term.

For those on the National Committee for Space Science, I take my had off to you for your years of hard work.  The Committee for Space Science includes:

Professor Iver Cairns (Chair)
Professor Russell Boyce
Dr Graziella Caprarelli
Dr Alex Held
Professor Fred Menk
Dr David Neudegg
Professor Bob Vincent, FAA
Professor Malcolm Walter, FAA

Despite the fact that this document has been 5 years in the making, I see its final release as the start of big things in Australia for space. It comes at a time when momentum is behind Space in Australia, and the evidence is truly stacking up to support Australian involvement in Space.