Kibo-ABC Member Country News: Australia's Latest Approaches to Kibo Utilization

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On March 6th, JAXA's KUOA office staff had the opportunity to discuss with the institutes and space agencies of Australia for coordination of future collaborations for Kibo Utilization in the Asia Pacific region.

They appreciated the benefits and potential outcomes from Kibo-ABC's major activities, namely SSAF (Space Seeds for Asian Future), Asian Try Zero-G, and Kibo-Robot Programming Challenge.

 

A faculty member of the School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) of the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra invited KUOA office staff to their workplace. Mount Stromlo Observatory is where the astronomical research is conducted and the space craft testing facility is located. ANU staff looked into the possibility of Kibo utilization for science missions as well as educational missions. ANU has been the point of contact for Australia to Kibo-ABC initiative and participated with many projects in the past, before foundation of the long-awaited Australian Space Agency. The agency is newly born and the number of staff officials is still growing. They understood and expressed the values of Kibo-ABC activities and details for collaboration will be discussed within the Australian space community.

ANU is keen to continue participating for Australia's students and young scientists/engineers.

Professor Anna Moore, Director of the ANU Institute for Space (InSpace), and Director of the Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre (AITC) at Mount Stromlo of ANU said,

"It was a great pleasure to host this delegation from JAXA's KUOA office to ANU. The opportunities for ANU InSpace and, Australia in general, to develop a large research partnership based on the utilization of KIBO are tremendously exciting. In addition, we are impressed by the educational possibilities, such as the Kibo-Robot Programming Challenge. Given the inventiveness of the Australian youth, I expect a great response."

Australian National University was officially founded in 1954, with the establishing Bill passed by Federal Parliament, and Mount Stromlo Observatory started its astronomical research in the early 1910's. The Observatory was burned by a bushfire once, which was common in the country, but they refurbished the facility shorty thereafter.

Dr. Anna Moore has worked in the field of infrared spectrographs, which are part of the next generation of tools scientists are using to map the sky and to help search for astronomical events including hidden novae, supernovae, and now gravitational wave events.