Arthur Sinodinos (NSW, Liberal Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable senator from Tasmania, Senator Bushby, for his question and his ongoing interest in all things space, and indeed also his commitment to the Antarctic work being done in Tasmania. He is a man who appreciates science and he knows the importance of science to Australia's future.

Australia's partnership with NASA spans 50 years, with NASA investing more than $800 million in space-tracking operations in Australia, primarily at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex at Tidbinbilla. Australian scientists at the 'Dish' in Parkes and at the complex in Tidbinbilla played an integral role in tracking the Apollo missions, including Apollo 11, in which Mr Buzz Aldrin, who was recently in this parliament, was second man to walk on the moon.

Today that complex is helping NASA with Cassini, which is a 20-year project sending a spacecraft 1.2 billion kilometres to Saturn, which over the coming days will plunge through the rings of gas around that entity which have puzzled and excited astronomers since the days of Galileo. It will be our Australians scientists in Tidbinbilla tracking Cassini as it answers questions which have been left unanswered for 400 years.

Today, that partnership is stronger than ever. It was great to see my colleague the Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Mr Laundy, welcome officials from NASA to the Tidbinbilla complex recently to officially open NASA's two new 34-metre deep space tracking antennae. This was the culmination of a $120 million investment by NASA over the last six years in new infrastructure at Tidbinbilla. It will enable Australia's ongoing partnership with NASA for many years to come, and it will contribute to its future plans, including sending humans to Mars in the 2030s.