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Fifty years after humans landed on the moon, the Australian Space Agency is aiming for its own “moonshot” moment.

That word was created after United States’ President John F Kennedy gave a speech on humans daring to shoot for the moon, in the midst of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

In 1961, JFK gave a famous speech calling for the moon mission.

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth,” he told Congress.

“This nation will move forward, with the full speed of freedom, in the exciting adventure of space.”





And on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down in the Moon’s Sea of Tranquillity in Apollo 11’s module Eagle.

The Australian Space Agency, which has been bolstered by the new $19.5 million Space Infrastructure Fund released in Tuesday’s federal Budget, has released its strategy for the next ten years, including the need for moonshot missions to inspire and unite the nation.

Advancing Space: Australian Civil Space Strategy 2019 — 2028 maps out how the Agency will boost the opportunities for an Australian space launch and human space flight and will “explore and develop opportunities through industry or international partnerships, including potential ‘moonshot’ missions”.

Moonshot in this context means literally a mission to the moon, while it can also mean anything inspiring and adventurous enough that it unites a nation.

Agency chief Megan Clark said “nothing inspires quite like space”.

Space Minister Karen Andrews said the space industry — which the Federal Government hopes will be worth $12 billion by 2030, employing 30,000 people — provided essential data for everyday living.

Everything from GPS technology to weather forecasting and online banking is driven by space, she said, pointing to the positive effects on the broader economy.