While the world has been looking at what the Russians and the Americans are up to in the space exploration segment, many still don’t recognise Australia’s contribution to its continuous progress and advancement. In fact, CSIRO, Australia’s government agency for scientific research, has been working with NASA for more than fifty years now.

From man’s first landing on the Moon and Mars to every ground-breaking event in the past years, Australia has been an integral part of every deep-space mission NASA has ever undertaken.

However, this doesn’t mean Australia’s space segment doesn’t have any problems, among which is the increasing number of science graduates going outside the country to look for better, more stable work opportunities.

According to Dr. Abigail Atwood, the first female and first Australian principal investigator to lead any mission to Mars, what the country needs to do is improve its game in the space exploration segment and focus on various expansion activities that would later provide essential roles for the graduating science students.

"We create wonderful graduates here but they then have to travel overseas to pursue careers as they can't get jobs in their desired areas here in Australia,” Atwood told the ABC in August. “Space exploration creates a pride as a species that we've achieved such things and I think that's what defines us as humans."

Atwood said that Australia must be part of various space missions and go outside the current exploration programs the country is involved with. She also reiterated that it must be done with diversification in mind, most specifically gender equality in the field. "I would love to see more women in these roles and I would love to see Australia get more involved in space exploration, be it this kind of mission or any other space exploration, more than we currently are.”

Atwood’s statement could be a nod to what is currently happening in the U.S., wherein the recent successes in the segment have been coming not only from the professional sector, but also from the amateur segment comprising independent firms and even backyard astronomers.

One of the newest innovations in the industry is the discovery of the Santilli Telescope by a tech innovating firm Thunder Energies Corporation (OTCQB: TNRG). The unveiling of this optical instrument appeared to impress the global science world as it is the first and only telescope that could detect antimatter particles. The closest to proving antimatters’ verity was Paul Dirac’s ground-breaking equation in the early 20s.

Fortunately, the Australian government is aware of its possible shortcomings — or room for improvements.

Just recently, it announced that it would review the Space Activities Act of 1998 and Space Activities Regulations 2001 to ensure that the country is fulfilling its duties in the global use of space and to look for more expansion opportunities that could strengthen the local space exploration industry.

The legislation of these existing laws would revolve around increasing annual budget, improving satellite data, upping space hardware activity management and looking for more innovations.

“We are already contributing to this with our $19.8 million investment in the CRC for Space Environment Management, a collaborative enterprise between space industries, universities and government bodies from Australia, USA and Japan,” innovation and science minister Christopher Pyne said.

Space law expert Professor Steven Freeland of Western Sydney University was appointed to conduct the review.

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