New and emerging opportunities in Space Technology and Artificial Intelligence will be supported through a $35 million investment, welcomed by the Coalition Government.
Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, is adding the two new fields to its Future Science Platforms (FSP) program.
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said the investment will help create new industries of the future, and opportunities for students to train in these areas.
“Investing in space technology breakthroughs that give us a national advantage is critical to increasing Australia’s domestic space industry to $12 billion by 2030,” said Minister Andrews.
“The Coalition Government recognises the importance of our space sector to the Australian economy and jobs of the future, that’s why we’re investing $41 million to establish the Australian Space Agency – as we look to capture a greater share in the US$345 billion dollar global space market.”
“CSIRO will draw on the experience of 75 years in space research and a deep expertise in Artificial Intelligence to help develop new industries for our future,” Minister Andrews said.
The CSIRO Space Technology FSP will receive $16 million over four years, initially focusing on advanced technologies for Earth observation, and will also tackle challenges such as space object tracking, resource utilisation in space, and developing manufacturing and life support systems for missions to the Moon and Mars.
The CSIRO Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning FSP will receive $19 million over four years, applying cutting-edge technology to tackle problems in areas including food security and quality, health and wellbeing, sustainable energy and resources, resilient and valuable environments, future industry and a secure Australia and region.
Under the FSP program more than $205 million will be invested in frontier science by 2022, in areas such as precision health, hydrogen fuel and digital agriculture, to secure the future prosperity of Australia.
More details on FSP, which began in 2016 and now has ten areas of research, are available at https://www.csiro.au/en/About/Future-Science-Platforms.
