We were thrilled to read the announcements earlier this week of the Australian Space Agency Moon to Mars Initiative Demonstrator Mission Grants recipients.
AROSE were proud to support the team at Raytracer in their grant submission and thrilled to see their team receive funding to support this exciting project, which is being delivered in partnership with Optus.
Raytracer will launch their CARBON command-and-control software on an Optus led, world-first On-orbit Servicing, Assembly & Manufacturing (OSAM) mission. The mission will deliver a Mission Robotic Vehicle and Extension Pod to Optus’s D3 satellite, providing six years of life extension to the satellite.
Key activities for this space project include the design, development, testing, integration, and support of CARBON through the mission phases, ready for mission operations by late 2024.
Undertaking these activities will demonstrate Raytracer’s CARBON technology operating with the Optus D3 satellite in GEO, before CARBON moves onto future Lunar and Mars remote operations missions in 2025 and beyond.
Raytracer Chief Executive Officer Peter Clowes said: “We are incredibly excited to be supported by the Australian Space Agency on this mission. Our project team, including Optus, AROSE and QUT have an opportunity to be involved in one of the first missions in the exciting field of OSAM, allowing us to demonstrate our capability and technology ahead of future Artemis missions to the Moon and Mars.”
CEO AROSE Leanne Cunnold said: “Raytracer is an innovative Australian company pushing the boundaries with their work in robotics. This is a great example of industry, research and start-up collaborating for a tangible outcome. AROSE is a proud supporter of Australia’s Space start-up community.
The Australian Space Agency’s Demonstrator Mission Grants are helping companies like Raytracer maximise the opportunities from a strong and growing Space sector in Australia. It’s great to see our Space sector go from strength to strength as together we build Australia’s sovereign Space capability.
Congratulations to Raytracer and all the grant recipients, we look forward to seeing your projects come to life.
More information on the Demonstrator Mission Grants can be found here – https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/moon-to-mars-initiative-demonstrator-mission-grants/grant-recipients
