Busy summer for Space education in Australia

This summer is shaping up to be very busy for space education in Australia, particularly in Adelaide.

The International Space University and University of South Australia have been busy hosting the Southern Hemisphere Southern Space Program - in its second year this year. The Program runs until the 11th of February, and features a host of top space lecturers from around the world.

The program covers a broad spectrum of space topics, and was developed by the University of South Australia and the International Space University with support from Australian Space Research Program funding. This year's program features 35 students from Russia, Australia, India, South Africa, Nepal, USA, Poland, Brazil, China, Spain, Nigeria and New Zealand. The program also sees the students develop an extensive white paper on a contemporary and important space issue. For more information, head here.

Across town, the AIAA chapter at the Adelaide University has been hosting the ISSET Mission Discovery Summer School which allows students to work with Astronauts, Astronaut trainers, rocket scientists and NASA leaders. For more information head over to the webpage here, or checkout the Adelaide University AIAA  facebook page here.

Both of these events have seen a number of Astronauts and global space leaders in Adelaide for the week, with some wonderful free public events on offer. Speaking of which, the 25th of January will see the final Space Panel event as part of the SH-SSP program as follows.

 Australia's Future in Space 

 Wednesday, 25 January 2012 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm 

 The Mawson Centre, University of South Australia Mawson Lakes Campus 

 This distinguished panel of key officials and space policy experts will discuss the recent history, current status, and future direction of the Australian space program. The panel will be led by Professor Andrew Parfitt, Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of South Australia and will include Australian experts including Mr. Brett Biddington, Chair of the Space Industry Association of Australia, Mr David Hudson of Geoscience Australia and Mr. John Teager of Defence SA.

For more info, head here.

Beyond this, February will see DLR and RMIT team up to hold a 4-day Remote Sensing summer school. For more information, you can take a look at my previous article on the summer school here.

The busy summer is another sign that the Australian Space industry is on the up and up, and no doubt such wonderful educational events will put in place the brains trust to lead the industry for many years to come.