The Moon to Mars Trailblazer Program is now open for applications.
The Trailblazer program is part of the $150 million Moon to Mars Initiative. The program will see up to $50 million made available for Australian businesses and researchers to develop and build a small rover. The rover will head to the Moon with NASA as early as 2026.
The semi-autonomous rover will collect lunar soil and deliver it to NASA equipment which will attempt to extract oxygen. This is a key step towards establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon. It will also support future missions to Mars.
Stage 1 of the Trailblazer program will see 1 or2 consortium receive up to $4 million to develop a rover to go through to Preliminary Design Review. Based on that review a single consortium will further develop their rover through to launch and operation on the Moon.
This national mission sits alongside other commercial efforts from Australian organisations to develop and send technology to the Moon. This is a sign of the growing depth of the Australian space sector.
Applications for the Trailblazer program will close on 28 February 2022.
