Unveiled today after a year in stealth mode, SEVEN SISTERS: the Australian Lunar Exploration Mission to send nanosatellites and sensors to the Moon to search for accessible water and resources, supporting NASA’s Artemis Program.

Led by a world-class team of space, industry and research leaders, Fleet Space Technologies, OZ Minerals, University of Adelaide, UNSW, Unearthed, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. and Fugro are already developing advanced technologies that will transform space exploration.

Inspired by the ancient story of the Seven Sisters, the star cluster known as the Seven Sisters, or the Pleiades, represents an important story of seven sisters in both Aboriginal star dreaming stories and in Ancient Greek mythology. The Seven Sisters were the companions of Artemis, and this name was chosen as Australia embarks on a companion mission to NASA’s Artemis Program.

“We  are  thrilled  to  launch  our  mission  utilising  the  best  of  Australia’s  capabilities.”  Fleet  Space  CEO,  Flavia  Tata  Nardini says. “It is critical that Australia supports NASA’s Artemis Program with high-maturity systems. Our satellites are already in space and our consortium members have proven capabilities in the most demanding environments on Earth. We are ready!”

A key goal of the SEVEN SISTERS Program is to secure Australia’s place as a specialist leader in space exploration by 2030.  ​This  inspirational,  high-impact  Australian  mission  will  leverage  the  existing  private  investment  in  Australian  space technology, as well as Australia’s core strengths in remote operations, communications and exploration. Developing an exceptionally strong Australian space sector will create thousands of high-technology jobs along the way.  “This  is  the  space  race  Australia  can  win.  Ultimately  we  are  seeking  footholds  on  these  new  worlds,”  says  SEVEN SISTERS Mission Director Matt Pearson. “In-situ resource utilisation is key to having permanent bases on the Moon, Mars and beyond.”

SEVEN  SISTERS  is developing new resource exploration techniques for Earth, the Moon and Mars. These tools will  help NASA identify viable deposits of water and other resources more efficiently. Ultimately, this work will underpin further  exploration  throughout  our  solar  system.  Using  massive  arrays of sensors on the lunar surface to generate  rich images of subsurface water and mineralisation, Artemis will be equipped with the data it needs to make prudent decisions ahead of robotic and human exploration.

“Australia is a world leader in mining engineering research and automation. It has the largest resources companies  and it makes a lot of sense for our young space industry to concentrate on an area of Australian strength. The SEVEN SISTERS mission offers a real opportunity to leverage strong Australian technology to promote human endeavours on the  moon.”  says  Professor  Andrew  Dempster,  Director  of  the  Australian  Centre  for  Space  Engineering  Research  (ACSER).

To find out more visit the SEVEN SISTERS website at https://www.7sisters.com.au/.