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https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/legendary-astronauts-koichi-wakata-shawna-pandya-get-quokka-selfies-at-rottnest-to-mark-end-of-wa-space-week-c-16907702>
"One small step for quokkas, one giant leap for mankind.
Compared to being the first Japanese astronaut to take command of the
International Space Station, a quokka selfie might seem mundane, but Koichi
Wakata was smiling as wide as WA’s famously happy marsupial on Thursday.
Wakata, a veteran of four NASA space shuttle missions, marked the end of his WA
Space Week visit with a helicopter flight to Rottnest alongside Canadian
astronaut Dr Shawna Pandya.
The duo got their obligatory quokka selfies, before returning to the mainland,
where they have been part of a five-day space industry extravaganza aimed at
growing regional capacity in the sector.
Among the industry heavyweights in attendance were head of the Australian Space
Agency Enrico Palermo, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency president Dr Hiroshi
Yamakawa and key players from other international space agencies, including a
large delegation from NASA.
The Cook Government used WA Space Week to announce $28.5 million in new funding
commitments to the sector on Tuesday, headlined by $25 million over five years
to the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research.
ICRAR executive director Professor Simon Ellingsen said the money would be used
to further the organisation’s world-leading research into the mysteries of the
universe, but also to return tangible benefits here on Earth.
“We have our data-intensive astronomy unit, and they’re working with people on
the providence of honey, they’re working on blockchain technologies, they’re
working on wave height forecasting, so things which are not astronomy, but
using techniques astronomers have found,” Professor Ellingsen said.
Even the astronauts’ short flight to Rotto was an opportunity to showcase WA’s
nascent space sector, with the chopper tracked by TeraNet, a mobile laser
communications system developed by UWA’s International Space Centre.
Mounted on a Jeep, the laser could offer more than a thousand-fold improvement
on the data exchange rates of existing earth to low-orbit communication."
Via Christoph S.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
