NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pamela Melroy toured Adelaide and Canberra this week.
It was the first visit of a sitting NASA Administrator to Australia since 2014.
To mark the visit, Minister Husic announced grants for two successful Australian consortiums under the Government’s Moon to Mars Trailblazer initiative.
In Adelaide, the NASA Administrator and Deputy launched a new Indigenous internship program, in partnership with the Australian Space Agency. They also attended an industry event and toured a collaborative space research facility at the University of Adelaide.
In Canberra, the Administrator and Deputy had meetings at the U.S Embassy and Parliament House. The Administrator also addressed the National Press Club.
Head of the Australian Space Agency Enrico Palermo said the historic visit was an important moment for the nation.
“Welcoming the NASA Administrator and Deputy to our country as we take another step toward our first mission to the Moon shows how far we’ve come as a space-faring nation,” Mr Palermo said.
“It was terrific to spend the week with NASA’s two most senior people, showing off what our country is doing in space and the ways we can contribute even further.”
Australia has a long history of collaboration in space with the U.S dating back to the 1950s. This includes helping to broadcast the Apollo 11 Moon landing to the world and tracking the most recent Artemis mission.