A bright and sunny morning greeted Australian of the Year and Astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg as we welcomed her to Mt Stromlo earlier today. ANU Institute for Space | InSpace and Canberra Cyber Hub organised the visit to the ANU capabilities, the Quantum Optical Ground Station (QOGS), Advanced Instrumentation Technology Centre and National Space Test Facility.

The first stop of the tour was to the QOGS, where Katherine got to see how Australia and ANU are supporting NASA’s upcoming Artemis II mission.

NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration will fly an optical (laser) communications system aboard the Orion spacecraft to test the technology’s operational utility to support human spaceflight operations.  In support of the demonstration, Professor Francis Bennet, his team and the ANU Quantum Optical Ground Station at Mount Stromlo Observatory will track, transmit and receive communications from Orion. This unique opportunity will test optical ground station capabilities with the potential to support future lunar-based missions for NASA.

Next up we showcased the leading detector controller and hyperspectral imager capabilities from the team of Professor Rob Sharp. These can be used to develop and launch payloads for Australian small satellites that can address key challenges facing us here in Australia. For example, the OzFuel mission, a collaboration with the Bushfire Research Centre of Excellence (BRCoE) will provide targeted information about vegetation flammability and fuel load that can inform bushfire risk and help us reduce the likelihood and severity of bushfires in Australia.

Finally, Eduardo Trifoni, the Director of the National Space Test Facility showed Katherine the extensive capabilities of the NSTF, which provide a crucial role in qualifying payloads and spacecraft before they are launched.

ANU Institute for Space | InSpace's Associate Director of Strategic Projects, Kate Ferguson said, "It was fantastic to show Katherine around the extensive facilities that we have at Mt Stromlo. The support of the Australian Space Agency has been crucial in helping us develop real capability that can push the boundaries of technology, provide mission assurance and deliver operational capability that can directly benefit us down on Earth."

Photos 📸 Jamie Kidston - ANU Media
1. Professor Rob Sharp (Director Advanced Instrumentation Technology Centre, AITC), Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Kate Ferguson (Associate Director Strategic Projects - ANU Institute for Space | InSpace, Eduardo Trifoni (Director of the National Space Test Facility, NSTF)
2. Katherine by the Quantum Optical Ground Station Telescope
3. Katherine by the Wombat XL
4. Katherine at the National Space Test Facility (NSTF)