Staff writers
Adelaide-based satellite tech company Myriota has confirmed a $1.5m investment from the Australian Space Agency will be used develop an off-world communications system.
The grant is part of a funding round as part of the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars Initiative Demonstrator Mission program, first published in March.
The communications payload, described by Myriota as supporting Australia’s sovereign space communications capability with “a resilient, flexible and scalable radio communication” system, will be a space-based ‘Internet of Things’ service deployed to low Earth orbit.
Internet of Things technology leverages sensors and software to connect the physical world to the internet, enabling real-time information sharing of information from appliances and other objects.
In announcing its communications payload project, Myriota also launched a new ‘Habitat’ demonstration site at its Adelaide headquarters, which showcases the way its IoT technology is used in projects to monitor water, carbon dioxide emissions and infrastructure resilience.
“This project is another example of how Australian innovation can contribute to global space missions, while ultimately enhancing the critical technologies that can improve lives here on Earth,” says Enrico Palermo, head of the Australian Space Agency.
Myriota, which is based at the Lot Fourteen innovation precinct in the Adelaide CBD, was one of 9 organisations to receive Moon to Mars grant funding. Fleet Space Technologies ($3.9m) and QuantX Labs ($3.7m) are other Lot Fourteen occupants to receive round funding.
The Australian National University ($10.7m across 2 projects), Sydney-based companies Advanced Navigation ($5.2m), Melbourne-based Enable Aerospace ($2.7m), Lunaria One ($3.6m) and Melbourne University ($2.6), Brisbane’s Raytracer ($2.8m) and the University of Western Australia ($4.4m) also received funding for a range of initiatives as part of the Moon to Mars program.