Space on the agenda at AUSMIN

Australia’s ongoing space partnership with the United States was among the focus of this week’s Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN).

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin in Annapolis, Maryland on August 6.

AUSMIN aims to strengthen further the alliance between Australia and the United States, as well as cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and globally. 

The Secretaries and Ministers highlighted work happening to build an “Innovation Alliance” between our nations, including several key space activities.

The AUSMIN joint statement reinforced a commitment to conclude a space framework agreement to facilitate cooperation on civil space activities. This includes further cooperation on NASA’s Artemis program, which Australia is already contributing to.

Australia also formally joined the United States-led Landsat Next satellite program, building on nearly half a century of collaboration in satellite land imaging.

This partnership will enhance satellite data collection and analysis capability to assist our nations, and the Indo-Pacific, with resources management, urban planning, and climate change and disaster relief.

The joint statement also committed to "further strengthen cooperation across the space domain, noting the centrality of outer space to global prosperity, security, and connectivity. They underscored their ambition to develop and promote norms of responsible behaviour to reduce space threats."

This comes just weeks after the Technology Safeguards Agreement, which will allow US space technology like rockets and satellites to be launched from Australia, officially came into force.