THE question of why time and money should be spent on space while there are still problems to solve here on Earth has never been more relevant.

However, a team of ANU scientists at the Mount Stromlo Observatory are building astronomical technology that not only allows researchers to better understand the nature of our universe, but also opens up vast possibilities for benefiting our home planet.

“People should totally be asking this question,” says Dr James Gilbert, lead engineer of the Canberra-based team of researchers.

“I agree we should be fixing problems on Earth, but it’s important to remember that a lot of space technology is indeed for Earth’s sake, not just for a dream to go live on another planet.”

James and his colleagues specialise in building optical spectrographs used in powerful telescopes – technology able to detect the light content of stars and galaxies thousands of light years away.

The data they collect can reveal what these distant celestial bodies are composed of, how far away they are, how fast they’re moving and much more, giving astrophysicists a greater understanding of the nature of the universe.

Now, James and his team are working on condensing these large and complex instruments into sizes that can fit on to Earth-orbiting satellites that would allow for even greater discoveries.

But the possibilities of their use go far beyond star gazing.

“These same devices can be put to use just by turning them around back at Earth and it turns out you can tune these instruments to look at signatures of moisture in particular trees,” says James.

“What this means is that by taking advantage of data processing and artificial intelligence, you can begin to see where the risk areas are for bushfires and plan back burning or risk mitigation ahead of time.”

This program, called OzFuel, is a collaboration between multiple ANU research groups and other Canberra-based organisations. It’s just one of the many possible applications that evolving satellite technology can offer, says James.

“With the advent of artificial intelligence and the progress that’s being made in processing images, you can tell a lot about the condition of natural resources on Earth; water quality, minerals, crop conditions,” he says.

It’s his hope that possibilities like these will open up more funding opportunities to accelerate Australia’s and Canberra’s space technology even further.

“When you make a new discovery in science, it makes up for the time it’s taken to get there tenfold,” he says.

“Having these stretch goals to do something hard, much like with the Apollo missions, is far more effective at pushing the technological envelope than trying to solve individual problems.”

Originally from the UK, Dr Gilbert’s research in Australia has seen him recognised as one of the country’s most innovative engineers.

His work on “Veloce Rosso”, an optical spectrograph for the Anglo-Australian Telescope in NSW, opened up new possibilities for planet hunting in Australia.

It forms just one part of the country’s fast-moving frontier of space technology.

“I’m not sure there’s anywhere else in the world these days where it’s possible to witness such a fast birth of an industry,” says James.

“It’s happening extremely quickly because Australia is in a race to catch up to other nations with more mature space agencies and then hopefully in some areas even overtake them.

“It’s early days but the projection is to create tens of thousands of jobs just in the next few years.”

The Mount Stromlo Observatory itself is home to a range of facilities pushing the boundaries of Australia’s space-faring technology.

One of these includes a chamber able to simulate the extreme conditions of space and puts the instruments being built at the observatory to the test.

“You put your satellite in the chamber, close the door, and pull all the air out, so it’s in a complete vacuum just like in space,” says James.

“A satellite might orbit Earth every 90 minutes. Every time it goes round it gets illuminated by the sun and heats up, then cools down as it goes round the back of the Earth so it’s exposed to extreme temperature changes.

“Up there the electronics get stressed out so we have to simulate all these scenarios before we can send any of them to space.”

With capabilities like this, James says there may be satellites built here in Canberra orbiting Earth in the near future – a prospect to him both exciting and profound.

“There’s just so much we don’t know about the nature of nature and not just on Earth but everywhere,” says James.

“It’s all just one giant mystery but we’re quite literally part of it, and it’s about getting closer to this universe we’re a part of.

“For me, well I think that’s a reason to come into work.”