News & Events

11 Apr 2026

Orion touches down back on earth

What a phenomenal ten days it has been following Artemis II's journey, with the crew travelling further than any human has ever travelled, just incredible.

06 Apr 2026

We're received video from Artemis II via optical communications!

The optical communications system on Artemis II is performing exceptionally well and proving its utility with over 100Gb of data downlinked so far including high resolution imagery and video! NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration - is now looking to increase the data rate to 100Mbps to allow as much data as possible to be relayed back during the mission. This system highlights the benefit of optical communications for future missions to the moon and beyond as operations become more complex.

Image Credit: NASA (Joel Kowsky | Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen)

02 Apr 2026

We have lift off!

We have lift off! Today is an historic moment for the world and a landmark moment for Australia as The Australian National University (ANU) partners with NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration as it sends astronauts back to the moon as part of the 10-day Artemis II mission – the space agency’s first crewed mission beyond Earth’s orbit in more than 50 years.

01 Apr 2026

Australian of the Year and Astronaut Katherine Bennell Pegg visits ANU

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.

30 Mar 2026

ANU, ASA, CSIRO press conference about upcoming Artemis II support

On Sunday morning, up at the The Australian National University Quantum Optical Ground Station, the press gathered to listen to Australian of the year and astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, ANU Professor Francis Bennet and CSIRO’s Kevin Ferguson, director of The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC), announce how Australia will support NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Artemis II mission with Canberra-based communications and tracking systems, helping astronauts orbit the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

18 Mar 2026

InSpace meeting with Mission Specialists

What better way to spend a Thursday afternoon than catching up with our wonderful ANU Institute for Space | InSpace Mission Specialists.

18 Feb 2026

New South Wales Space Research Network (SRN) supports ANU Australia's Economic Accelerator (AEA) Ignite applications

ANU Institute for Space | InSpace’s work supporting The Australian National University researcher's applications for grants also involves working with other great organisations and for us the NSW Space Research Network is one such place. Our strategic project manager Natasha Disha wanted to highlight the New South Wales Space Research Network (SRN) most recent support with our Australia's Economic Accelerator (AEA) Ignite application, which secured round two funding enabling strong, connected space research capability across NSW and the ACT.

11 Feb 2026

Associate Director Dr Kate Ferguson's 2025 highlights

Kicking off our top memories and highlights of 2025 posts for the team. It's a great way for us all to remember the good times we had and get us ready for the year ahead. ANU Institute for Space | InSpace's Associate Director of Strategic Projects Kate Ferguson is first up. 2025 was a year where we got to celebrate great successes in some of Australia’s biggest space initiatives.

02 Feb 2026

Singapore Space Summit 2026 launches

Day 1 at Space Summit 2026 in Singapore, and it is already clear that space in this region is being treated as critical infrastructure, central to resilience, connectivity, sustainability, and national capability.

Round 2 Australia's Economic Accelerator (AEA) Ignite outcomes were announced

28 Jan 2026

Round 2 Australia's Economic Accelerator (AEA) Ignite outcomes announced

Round 2 Australia's Economic Accelerator (AEA) Ignite outcomes were announced last week and ANU Institute for Space | InSpace's team supported applications securing funding across two projects. The ANU projects that received the grants are: *Portable Vacuum Ultraviolet Source to Support Human Exploration and Inhabitation of the Space Environment. And... * ChronoPhase: Picometer differential metrology at low power for space.

27 Jan 2026

Third School of Space Qualification, hosted by the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics at University of Wollongong kicks off!

26 Jan 2026

Congratulations to Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Australian of the Year 2026

Our heartfelt congratulations to Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Australian of the Year 2026. You are an inspiration to so many people and your advocacy for space and STEM education is seminal.

15 Jan 2026

InSpace back in 2026

At ANU Institute for Space | InSpace we have been getting back into our space research projects these past two weeks and noticing the quiet on campus, which still surprises us every January, whilst we await the return of the students in a few weeks and the campus buzzes once again, a hive of activity.