Our People
The Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources is an internationally recognised research and development hub focused on enabling long-term human presence in deep space.
The Centre leads multidisciplinary teams across academia, industry and government and brings together expertise in off-Earth civil engineering, construction, architecture, robotics and AI, human-machine teaming, geology, psychology and law.
Associate Professor John Culton
ATCSR Centre Director
John has extensive international experience within defence policy, security cooperation, space, and intelligence sectors, as a senior diplomat and US Department of Defense leader. Most recently, John has been focused on the role of technology, policy, and law in the coming commercial development of the Earth-Moon system.
Mr Miles Davies
ATCSR Centre Manager
Miles is a research and business development specialist focused on building commercial partnerships and research programs aligned with the ATCSR’s core mission of enabling safe and sustainable human habitation in deep space. Miles also brings significant geoscientific expertise to the ATCSR through his previous roles in government and minerals industry.
Professor Melissa de Zwart
ATCSR Professor Space Law and Governance
Melissa is the Deputy Director and a Chief Investigator of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants 4 Space and Professor Space Law and Governance, Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources. Melissa is a prominent legal researcher, working in the areas of commercial and military uses of outer space, encompassing both domestic and international space law. She has published widely on all legal and regulatory aspects of the space environment.
Professor Volker Hessel
ATCSR Research Director
Volker is an internationally recognised research leader in the field of flow chemistry and sustainable chemistry and their application to human-centred space resource research such as regolith mineral processing, space-medicinal formulations, space-food technology, and space-plant growth engineering.
Professor Anna Ma-Wyatt
ATCSR Director of Astronaut-Autonomy Teaming
We work on human-autonomy teaming for interaction with autonomous and semi-autonomous systems. We investigate how human performance is impacted by these interactions to understand how to build sociotechnical systems that support human-autonomy teaming and augment human performance.
Dr Terry Bennett
Terry is a researcher in the mechanics of materials and structures. This interest is applied to the strength and stability of structures and the behaviour of materials in the lunar environment.
Professor Tat-Jun Chin
Director of Space-based AI and Autonomy
Tat-Jun (TJ) is a leading international expert on AI for Space and its application to autonomous spacecraft and space robotics. He has worked extensively in the areas of space domain awareness (space-based and ground-based), space-borne machine learning and autonomous rovers. TJ currently holds the SmartSat CRC Professorial Chair of Sentient Satellites (2020-2024) and is a member of the Technica Advisory Group on space domain awareness and robotics and autonomous systems of the Australian Space Agency.
Professor Matthew Gilliham
ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space, Director
Matthew leads P4S, an international collaboration with over 30 organisations delivering a multi-disciplinary program focused on technologies that allow humans to survive and thrive remote from Earth, and improve sustainable production on Earth. Matthew has focused his research career in crop plant nutrition and stress resilience with notable advances in salinity and drought tolerance, and GABA signalling. Matthew is a Clarivate highly cited researcher and member of the ARC College of Experts. Prior to establishing P4S, he was Director of the Waite Research Institute, and ARC Future Fellow.
Professor Jenny Mortimer
Co-lead Space Agriculture
Jenny is a plant biochemist and synthetic biologist who is redesigning crops to meet climate challenges. She is node lead for the ARC-funded Centre of Excellence in Plant for Space (P4S), which is headquartered at the University of Adelaide. She is also an investigator on space agriculture projects which will aim to grow plants on Axiom station (UK Space Agency funded) and the lunar surface (NASA funded).
Modupe Adebowale
Project title:
Cosmic Ray and Microgravity-stable Liquid Nanoformulations
Supervisors:
Professor Volker Hessel
Dr Van Duc Long Nguyen
Project precis:
Pharmaceuticals in spaceflight are impacted by unique environmental stressors like microgravity and radiation. Long-duration space missions would have a limited resupply, so it is crucial to develop highly stable and effective drugs. Nanoformulations offer better solubility, stability, and bioavailability. This research aims to create space-sturdy nanoemulsion medicines using microfluidics technology.
Akshay Kumar Agarwal
Project title:
Site preparation and ground improvement on the Moon surface
Supervisors:
Dr Brendan Scott
Professor Mark Jaksa
Project precis:
Advancing lunar habitation requires cost-effective infrastructure solutions. This research explores the strength and compressibility of lunar regolith simulants, essential for developing efficient surface compaction techniques. By focusing on innovative ground improvement methods, we aim to optimize resource utilization on the Moon - paving the way for sustainable and long-lasting lunar infrastructure.
Jonathan Diab
Project title:
Developing Duckweed as a Novel Protein Crop for Closed Environment Agriculture and Off Planet Applications
Supervisors:
Associate Professor Jenny Mortimer
Professor Matthew Gilliham
Project precis:
I'm engineering the aquatic monocot duckweed to produce a class of biodegradable bioplastics called polyhydroxyalkanoates, which retain the functionality of traditional petroleum-based materials but add the capability for circular, in-situ resource utilisation. Here on Earth, I’ll be considering the technoeconomic constraints on market success, balanced with social and environmental costs.
Ryan Edwards
Project title:
Enhancing the nutritional quality of duckweed, a novel crop for Space and Closed Environmental Agriculture
Supervisors:
Associate Professor Jenny Mortimer
Professor Matthew Tucker
Project precis:
I’m using synbio practices to biofortify duckweed with vitamin A, C and D for future space exploration. I’m also investigating natural variation in duckweed vitamin content and how light recipes affect this. I have a background in molecular and plant biotechnology and am interested in real-world applications of synbio.
Kevin Farries
Project title:
Sintered or melted regolith for lunar construction
Supervisors:
Professor Phillip Visintin
Professor Scott Smith
Project precis:
Humans will soon return to the moon to establish permanent lunar bases which will require construction materials for landing pads, roads and habitats. My research investigates the viability of processing lunar dust using selective laser melting, laser welding or casting to create civil construction materials.
Rayhan Md Faysal
Project title:
Geopolymer-based construction materials for lunar structures utilising in-situ lunar resources.
Supervisors:
Professor Scott Smith
Dr Tafsirojjaman
Project precis:
The research aims to develop sustainable lunar regolith simulants (LRS) based lunar concrete materials utilising the geopolymerization principle. The developed materials will be used to evaluate the potential lunar structural system and provide design guidelines suitable for the moon's environment, ultimately advancing human settlement on the moon.
William Foster-Hall
Project title:
Bio-Inspired Soft Robotics for Lunar and Planetary Missions
Supervisors:
Associate Professor Rini Akmeliawati
Associate Professor David J Harvey
Associate Professor Ling Yin
Project precis:
To enhance the development of a sustained human presence in space, successful and collaborative human-robot partnerships are essential. We propose that robotic partners with an emphasis on inherent safety may prove instrumental to this goal. This project aims to explore soft robotic usage in space environments using a bio-inspired design approach and to present a framework for soft robotic applications in space.
Mohammad Altaf Hossain
Project title:
Sustainable Off-Earth Construction Materials and Structural Systems Utilising In-Situ Lunar Materials
Supervisors:
Professor Scott Smith
Dr Tafsirojjaman
Project precis:
My project aims to develop sustainable lunar construction materials from raw lunar regolith with lunar equivalent basalt fibre and an optimum percentage of the epoxy resin binder. Following this, the effectiveness of the end products, particularly RRC and FRRC, will be examined in extreme lunar environmental conditions.
Mohammed (Alex) Karami
Project title:
Unveiling the potential of Duckweed: insights into stress tolerance and the GABA shunt
Supervisors:
Professor Matthew Gilliham
Dr Bo Xu
Project precis:
Duckweed is relatively sensitive to salt stress and this stress disturbs the balance of nitrogen and phosphorus absorption which is highly important for duckweed growth. No research has been done on GABA-salinity interaction in this aquatic plant.
Seungil Lee
Project title:
Optimised structural systems for the stability of structures in the lunar environment
Supervisors:
Dr Terry Bennett
Professor Scott Smith
Project precis:
The research focuses on the stability of structures on the lunar surface, integrating design standards and seismic hazard assessment. It employs advanced structural analysis and mechanics to optimise design, ensuring robust and resilient lunar infrastructure. The study aims to enhance the safety and sustainability of lunar construction projects.
Lachlan Maddaford
Project title:
The Effect of Reduced Gravity on Fermentation Processes
Supervisors:
Associate Professor Philip van Eyk
Dr Nam Nghiep Tran
Project precis:
Success of self-sustaining human habitation and exploration beyond low-Earth orbit relies on in situ resource utilization to produce food, fuel and manage waste. I am developing a methodology for observation of the process behaviour in simulated altered gravity environments to explore the technological readiness of bioprocesses (fermentation) for use beyond low-Earth orbit.
Sofia McLeod
Project title:
Vision-based Navigation for Planetary Missions
Supervisors:
Professor Tat-Jun Chin
Professor Ian Reid
Project precis:
My research explores autonomous vision-based navigation systems for spacecraft. To date, I have produced a biologically inspired spacecraft landing algorithm utilising a neuromorphic vision sensor, and a crater-based satellite pose estimation system for lunar positioning targeted towards lunar survey missions.
Md Maruf Molla
Project title:
Space Compatible Non-destructive Evaluation (NDE) Technology for Lunar Construction
Supervisors:
Professor Alex Ng
Dr Tafsirojjaman
Project precis:
Due to the exorbitant cost of importing materials from Earth, lunar habitat development must start with local materials. Therefore, in-situ material is critical for lunar construction. This study focuses on developing a space-compatible, non-destructive evaluation technique to inspect their properties and integrity and validate the method's performance and reliability.
Matthew Morgan
Project title:
Lemnaceae as a synthetic biology system for production of pharmaceuticals in space
Supervisors:
Professor Matthew Gilliham
Associate Professor Jenny Mortimer
Dr Andrew Hennessy
Project precis:
For my project, I am exploring the use of plants in the Lemnaceae family as a sustainable bio-pharmaceutical production system to support future astronauts in long-term space missions.
Sampurna Mukherjee
Project title:
Implementation of core-shell beads as a flow free solution for conducting consecutive reactions
Supervisors:
Professor Volker Hessell
Project precis:
We aim at designing a new reaction platform by flow chemistry approach, where our goal is to perform extraction of bioactive compound(s) and synthesizing nano-zinc within liquid droplets (micro-containments).
The primary goal is the synthesis of core-shell beads (droplets) for microgravity by using flow- chemistry. Later on we move towards nanomaterial synthesis that works under harsh environmental conditions.
Xiao Yu (Josh) Ng
Project title:
Biosynthesis of Omega-3 in duckweed
Supervisors:
Associate Professor Jenny Mortimer
Associate Professor Matthew Tucker
Project precis:
Duckweeds have recently arisen as a potential solution for worldwide food shortages and a renewable food source in space missions. Biosynthesis of marine source Omega-3 like EPA and DHA can improve its nutrient profile and help to reduce radiation damage in space as well as reduce bone and muscle loss.
Chigozie Ofoedu
Project title:
Processing duckweed into an ingredient for use in novel foods and beverages
Supervisors:
Professor Jenny Mortimer
Dr Hayriye Bozkurt
Dr James Cowley
Project precis:
I'm researching duckweed, an aquatic plant with high protein and a complete amino acid profile, as a sustainable alternative to livestock protein. My work aims to enhance its nutritional profile and develop novel methods for extracting duckweed protein for food system integration.
Albert Rajkumar
Project title:
Extended Reality in Human-Robot interactions for Lunar Habitat Design and Construction
Supervisors:
Dr Amit Srivastava
Professor Anna Ma-Wyatt
Associate Professor Edward Palmer
Project precis:
NASA and China want to establish a permanent stay on the Moon. For this, humans and robots are going to have to work together to build and maintain lunar infrastructure. My research explores how we can use extended reality to enhance human-robot collaboration in lunar construction.
Md Abdur Rakib
Project title:
Hypervelocity Impact Resistant Structural Composite Panel Systems for Off-Earth Construction
Supervisors:
Professor Scott Smith
Dr Tafsirojjaman
Project precis:
Hypervelocity impact generated by micrometeoroids and orbital debris (MMOD) is the greatest threat to structures sustaining in the extra-terrestrial environment. My research is designing sustainable structural composite panel systems composed of space indigenous materials to withstand MMOD hypervelocity impact. Experiments will be conducted using light gas guns to analyse the ballistic performance of the panel systems for different velocity regimes.
Svenja Schmidt
Project title:
Fortified Beverages for Space Exploration
Supervisors:
Professor Volker Hessel
Project precis:
I am developing a new generation of fortified beverages designed to increase health and well-being during space travel. Astronauts will be able to choose from a variety of flavours and nutrients based on their personal preference and needs, with the bespoke beverages produced on-demand in space.
Kārlis (Kārl) Šļumba
Project title:
Surveying the geotechnical properties of the lunar surface and subsurface using penetrometers and seismic methods
Supervisors:
Dr Brendan Scott
Professor Mark Jaksa
Project precis:
Exploring the feasibility of using dynamic cone penetrometers and seismic methods to survey the geotechnical properties of the regolith at the surface and subsurface of the Moon.
Monika Stankiewicz
Project title:
Structural Logistics of Repair in Lunar Habitat Design using Sintered Regolith Blocks
Supervisors:
Dr Amit Srivastava
Professor Scott Smith
Project precis:
Based at the EXTERRES laboratory, utilizing the regolith pit with LHS-1E simulant and the large Regolith Thermal Vacuum chamber (RTVac).
Quy Don Tran
Project title:
From Moon Materials to High-Performance Products: Ultrapurification of Resources and their Manufacturing as Medicinal Formulations
Supervisors:
Professor Volker Hessel
Project precis:
This thesis explores two challenges to achieve circularity in space manufacturing relevant for a closed-loop supply chain using lunar resources: extraction to pure metals and stable space medicines. A microfluidic system was employed to purify zirconium for optical fibre production in space, using biodegradable eutectic solvents. The gained innovation was translated to Earth-industry issues, eg: acid mine drainage in Australia. Tablets as space medicine were formulated using lunar excipients, aiming for cosmic-radiation stability, and tested inside the ISS and on its exterior MISSE platform. The developed iron-oxide coating leads to far more stable tablets under the harsh conditions at MISSE.
Manuel Varon Hoyos
Project title:
Towards a Cislunar Macronutrients Supply Chain: Life Cycle Assessment of Microfluidic Extraction
Supervisors:
Professor Volker Hessel
Professor Nigel Cook
Dr Jose Garcia Sanchez
Project precis:
My research aims to propose a macronutrients supply chain model based on off-Earth cropping systems. In addition, prospective production of macronutrients from lunar materials through microfluidic techniques will be evaluated. Finally, the sustainability of proposed macronutrient supply chain, including environmental, economic and social aspects will be addressed.
Gary Yung
Project title:
Developing intelligence systems for lunar habitat structures to support long-term space operations
Supervisors:
Associate Professor David Harvey
Dr Noune Melkoumian
Project precis:
This research aims to integrate intelligence systems into lunar habitation structures subjected to the unique lunar environment and investigate their potential benefits in maximising the use of local construction materials. The intelligence system will be designed to improve the overall performance of the habitation structures and enable adaptive functionality for long-term space operations.