First course in fundamentals of space resources

In order to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon and send people to Mars and the outer solar system, crewed deep space exploration will be reliant on the sustainable use of resources.

The five-day inter-disciplinary course Space Resources Fundamentals, delivered by the University of Adelaide’s Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources, enables attendees to become experts in this important field.

The course is the first offering of its kind in Australia and is open to anyone with a background in science, engineering, professions and social sciences.

“This exciting new field, space resource utilisation, is critical to unlocking the next wave of human exploration of the solar system,” said the University of Adelaide’s Associate Professor John Culton, Director of the Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources.

“The course provides an in-depth understanding of the field and examines its critical necessity to continued human space exploration.

“We will look at the key legal aspects of space resources and the various destinations, specific resources, proposed methodologies and the criticality of utilising resources found off-world to facilitate longer duration and farther afield space exploration.”

The course, at the University’s North Terrace campus for in-person attendees and also online, is from Monday 17 to Friday 21 October 2022.

Wide-ranging topics will be discussed including launch and rocket equations: orbital mechanics; space agriculture, law and construction; deep space psychology and mining techniques in different environments.

“This exciting new field, space resource utilisation, is critical to unlocking the next wave of human exploration of the solar system. The course provides an in-depth understanding of the field and examines its critical necessity to continued human space exploration."Associate Professor John Culton, Director of the Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources, at the University of Adelaide.

Discussion will be led by leaders in their specialist field of space expertise including:

• Professor Charles Elachi who, as Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, oversaw the launching of 24 missions to deep space. Professor Elachi is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Adelaide.
• Professor Kiran Bhaganagar: Director, NASA Centre for Advanced Measurements in Extreme Environments.
• Professor Hirdy Miyamoto from the University of Tokyo, planetary geologist for multiple JAXA asteroid/lunar missions.
• Sam Ximenes, CEO and architect from lunar surface infrastructure company, Astroport.
• Mark Sonter, Co-founder Asteroid Enterprises and Deep Space Industries;
• Kirby Ikin: Global Chairman, National Space Society, co-founder Deep Space Industries.

The course will address questions like:

• What is the current state of international deep space efforts?
• What are the destinations: Moon, Mars, and small bodies like asteroids and comets?
• How does in-situ resource use underpin these efforts?
• What are these resources and where are they?
• How might we access and utilise them?

More details of the Space Resources Fundamentals course are available on the University of Adelaide’s website.

The South Australian Space Industry Centre is proud to support the inaugural Space Resources Fundamentals course, which will grow vital expertise and capability and builds on the state’s strong reputation as a centre-of-gravity for space activity.

About the Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources: adelaide.edu.au/atcsr/

The Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources (ATCSR) brings together the University of Adelaide’s collective exploration, mining, manufacturing and engineering research strengths to address the challenges faced by long term planetary exploration, while ensuring the near-term application here on Earth.

Achieving this goal requires a fundamental rethinking of the technologies, processes and infrastructure required to ensure continued and sustainable access to the energy, fuels and resources necessary for off-world operations and to ensure a safe environment for mission crews.