Space plasma power and propulsion group

A solar car you could take to Mars

Living on Mars you’re a good distance from a mechanic. So, any technology you use there would need to be robust. These are the kind of thoughts Professor Rod Boswell has been mulling over as he considers the plans of humans to venture to other...

Lift-off: new thruster system in orbit

At 2 am on the 2nd of January, technology developed at the Research School of Physics lifted off aboard a Spacex rocket and was placed in orbit. The Bogong naphthalene-based thruster has been installed in a nanosatellite, or cubesat, about the size of a loaf...

Moth balls thrust satellites into space

The chemical in moth balls, naphthalene, will be tested in space in a new satellite rocket propulsion system, Bogong, developed at The Australian National University (ANU). Scientists have designed the innovative thruster, with a familiar odour, in only...

Using a pocket rocket to explore distant planets

A plasma thruster, developed at ANU for use on miniature satellites, is being used to look for evidence of life on distant planets – but not in the way you might expect. The system, called Pocket Rocket, is not powering a satellite to visit...

Hunter-killer satellite: new weapon in battle against space junk

It may sound futuristic, but researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) and Tohoku University in Japan have found a new way of dealing with space junk – and it involves a new type of satellite powered by superheated gas. Space debris...

Australian-built satellites launched into space

The first satellites built in Australia in the past 15 years have been launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida to the International Space Station, where they will be deployed into space. The space simulator at The Australian National University's Advanced...

Micro-Satellite workshop at held at ANU

Last week Professor Christine Charles hosted the first Australian-Japanese workshop on making micro-satellites with the view to exploring Pocket Rocket activities, as well as CubeSat and Ground Station tracking facilities. This was a pilot workshop. One of the primary...

Revolutionary ANU 'plasma thruster' set for blast off

ANU has won a $3.1 million grant from the Federal Government to help propel Australian satellite technology and exploratory missions into the furthest reaches of deep space. The University will partner with national and international bodies to make...