Australia to send its first rover to the moon in 2026

australian space agency will send own rover to the moon in 2026. It is planned to do this as part of the NASA mission "Artemis».

Australia's space program is called Trailblazer ("Trailblazer"). The Australian spacecraft is expected to collect lunar soil, also known as regolith, and then bring it back to Earth. After that, specialists will try to extract oxygen from the resulting material.

If all goes according to plan, this will be a key step towards a sustainable human presence on the moon, the press service of the Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources noted.

Now the country is contest for the best name for a lunar rover - any resident of a mainland state can offer his own version. Then a nationwide vote will be launched. The winner will be announced at the 16th Australian Space Forum in Sydney on 6 December 2023.