Amid a recent solar eclipse and blood moon, this week’s Tech Tuesday looks at the technological advancements reshaping the mining sector, including the roll out of Australia’s first moon rover, ‘Roo-ver’ preparing for its maiden lunar launch.
This is one technology that has not been caught on the proverbial hop!
The Australian Space Agency highlighted Roo-ver will be carried to the lunar surface on CT-4 around the end of this decade, which will be delivered through The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA’s) Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.
NASA has entrusted the Australian lunar rover with key research objectives, including collecting new data about the surface of the moon to support international space science and exploration goals.
Roo-ver will also be supercharged with an integrated NASA payload – an analysis instrument planned to show technology for scientific and exploration purposes.
The Australian Government is investing $42 million into developing, designing, building, and operating the semi-autonomous rover across the life of the project.
Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science Tim Ayres says Roo-ver will boost and inspire the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce needed for the future.
“This is one of the most specialised robotics and advanced manufacturing projects in the country,” Ayres says.
“Roo-ver is a prime example of how space can be a driver of the Albanese Labor Government’s Future Made in Australia agenda to grow national industrial capability, boost productivity, and build economic resilience.”
Martian dirt metals
Continuing the resources and technology sectors contributions to space science, the Commonwealth of Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Swinburne researchers are investigating the production of native metals using materials found on Mars.
According to the CSIRO, Mars has all the ingredients needed to make native metals – which is called in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU). These ingredients include iron-rich oxides in regolith and carbon from its thin atmosphere.
ISRU is the harnessing of local natural resources at mission destinations, instead of taking needed supplies from Earth, to enhance the capabilities of human exploration.
Swinburne University of Technology astrometallurgist Professor Akbar Rhamdhani is working with CSIRO Postdoctoral Fellow Debby Nababan to test this process with regolith simulant – an artificial recreation of ingredients found on Mars.
“We picked a simulant with very similar properties to that found at Gale Crater on Mars and processed them on Earth with simulated Mars conditions,” Rhamdhani says.
The simulant is placed inside a chamber at Mars surface pressure and heated at increasing temperatures. Pure iron metal formation is around 1,000℃, with liquid silicon-iron alloys produced around 1,400℃.
For reference the air inside a hot air balloon reaches between 100 and 120℃, so this temperature is vastly hotter than a hot air balloon system.
Rhamdhani says at high enough temperatures, all of the metals coalesced into one large droplet.
“This could then be separated from liquid slay the same way it is on Earth,” he says.
This news follows the idea of building settlements on Mars, which is a popular goal of billionaires, space agencies, and interplanetary enthusiasts.
However, CSIRO notes that construction demands materials and it would cost US$243 million ($368.41 million) to send NASA’s one tonne Perseverance Rover to Mars.
Perseverance analysis
NASA is also hosting a media teleconference on Wednesday 10 September 11am EDT (1am AEST) to discuss the analysis of a rock sampled by the space agency’s Perseverance Mars rover last year.
The sample – Sapphire Canyon – was collected in July 2024 from a set of rocky outcrops on the edges of Neretva Vallis, which is a river valley carved by water rushing into Jezero Crater long ago.
To date, Perseverance has collected 30 samples and still has six empty sample tubes to fill. It is continuing to collect detailed information about geologic targets that it has not sampled by using its abrasion tool.
Among the rover’s science instruments is a weather station that provides environmental information for future human missions, alongside swatches of spacesuit material so that NASA can study how it fares on Mars.
Enhancing visibility
Artificial intelligence-based company DroneShield (ASX:DRO) has joined the S&P/ASX 200 Index, which marks a milestone for the company’s continued rise as a global defence technology company.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index represents 89% of the Australian equity market by market capitalisation and serves as the primary benchmark for domestic and global institutional investors.
CEO Oleg Vornik says this achievement reflects the strength of DroneShield and the global demand for its counter-drone technology.
“We believe this milestone will further enhance our visibility with institutional domestic and overseas investors and strengthen our platform for continued growth,” Vornik says.
This news comes after DroneShield entered into other indices alongside global defence primes, including the Mirae Asset Global X Defence Tech Index, the Global X Defence Tech ETF, and the S&P/ASX 300 Index.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Australian Space Agency, CSIRO, & DroneShield
