NASA wants an Australian astronaut to travel to the moon

NASA says it wants an Australian astronaut to join its reinvigorated space program as it counts down to three manned moon missions.

Former US senator and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy address the National Press Club. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

NASA says it wants an Australian astronaut to join its reinvigorated space program as it counts down to three manned moon missions by the end of the decade.

Nearly 18 years after Australian Andy Thomas returned to earth from his fourth space mission, NASA administrator Senator Bill Nelson declared: “I would like to see an Australian train and fly with us.”

NASA deputy administrator Colonel Pam Melroy suggested an Australian might even join a future mission to Mars.

“The first person to walk on Mars is in a classroom right now,” she said.

“It would be very exciting to see Australia continue to partner with the US long-term. We do hope that when we are ready to go to Mars we will go as international representatives of earth.”

The top NASA officials addressed the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday, as the agency urges the Albanese government to provide more funding for the Australian space sector.

Australia is already partnering with NASA on its Artemis space missions, which include planned lunar landings in 2025, 2028 and 2029.

An Australian-built autonomous lunar rover is scheduled to be ready for launch by 2026, enabling it to be used on the second mission.

Senator Nelson said there was huge international interest in returning to the moon, including from China, amid hopes the lunar environment could hold valuable resources such as kerosene, which is used for rocket fuel.

“We could have a gas station on the moon,” he said.

“There is a lot of excitement among our competitors that want to go there, and they want to get there before we do.”

He singled out China as behaving in a “very secretive, very non-transparent” manner in space, saying it refused to co-operate with the international space community including on safety matters.

Space Industry Association chief executive James Brown told the ABC that Australia should not let the opportunity to put another Australian into space “pass us by”.

“Australia has missed so many opportunities to get our people into space in recent decades,” Mr Brown said.

“Now NASA is doing everything it possibly can to get an Australian astronaut into space. All it takes is Australian political will and some modest funding.”