Wellington, Jan 31(Agency) New Zealand signed a space cooperation agreement with Australia on Wednesday, under which up to 6 million NZ dollars (3.67 million U.S. dollars) will be available to Kiwi researchers. The funding will be available from the government’s Catalyst Fund to support New Zealand space scientists to participate in collaborative research projects through Australia’s SmartSat Cooperative Research Center. The projects will focus on Earth observation, space situational awareness, and optical communications. “This collaboration agreement between the New Zealand Space Agency and Australia’s leading space research organisation will advance space science, technology, and cooperation and provide real-world benefits to New Zealanders,” said New Zealand Space Minister Judith Collins, who was visiting Melbourne for the New Zealand Foreign and Defence Ministers’ Meeting.
New Zealand has an innovative space sector, Collins said, adding that this partnership helps solve trans-Tasman challenges. Earth observation projects help unlock information about the environment and climate through observation of the Earth from high altitudes and in space. This data can help monitor biosecurity risks and manage crops, the minister said. Space situational awareness projects will help develop new ways to monitor the orbital environment and be at the forefront of global sustainable space activities, while optical communications projects investigate more efficient methods for sending large volumes of data between Earth and space and support future space exploration, she said. The research enabled by this partnership will support the efforts to promote the safe and responsible use of space, make better use of aerospace-enabled data in New Zealand’s primary industries, and advance world-leading technology to improve communications,” Collins said.