About the Competition

The Australian Space Architecture Challenge (ASAC) was set up to develop and showcase Australian capacity in serving the long-term goal of deep space human habitation. It aligns with the Australian Civil Space Strategy and the Moon to Mars initiative to advance Australia’s position in the global space economy.

Building national capacity and inspiring future workforce

Space Architecture is an inter-disciplinary endeavor, which brings together capabilities across the entire range of STEM fields, as well as Creativity and Culture. This national level competition is set up to gather the emerging talent across this wide range of fields and highlight the importance of a collaborative effort in imagining our future in space. Following two of the main strategic pillars outlined in the Australian Civil Space Strategy, it aims to ‘increase national capacity’ and ‘inspire to build the next generation of the space workforce’. It further aligns with the Moon to Mars initiative to support Australia’s contribution to the NASA Artemis Program, returning humans to the Moon and preparing us for travel to Mars. 

The related goals of the Australian Space Architecture Challenge include:

Create capabilities: Through the setting of this interdisciplinary challenge focused on human habitation, ASAC aims to encourage the future workforce to think collaboratively and work to leverage the capacities of Australian expertise and industry. Bringing together aspects of Engineering, Robotics, and Automation with Psychology, Health, and Human Factors, it hopes to not only develop capabilities in these various fields, but also define new national capabilities by combining them in creative ways through diverse and inclusive working teams.

Engage and inspire: As a national level competition, ASAC aims to showcase Australia’s talents across a wide range of disciplines and engage the wider Australian community to support these emerging space initiatives.  It further hopes to inspire young people to take up education and research in relevant fields to be a part of a diverse and inclusive future space workforce. 

Support industry: By working together with Australian industry partners, ASAC aims to support the commercial space economy and help define the competitive advantage of Australian technologies and capabilities at a global scale. The interdisciplinary and practical focus will help define gaps in the industry and supply chain, and develop innovative solutions for space technology and science, as well as create a pipeline for the future space workforce. 

International engagement: Representing Australian capabilities and talent on the world stage, ASAC aims to not only showcase the best that Australia has to offer, but also explore opportunities for international partnerships and collaboration. This will allow Australian talent to become part of the global space economy and attract valuable expertise to support Australian space sector. 

2024 key dates