Australian Space Research Conference (ASRC) : Background and response to 27 July NCSS Press release by NSSA

The NSSA originally created the conference series in 2001. Its involvement with the Australian Academy of Science, via the NCSS, commenced in early 2007. Organisations such as the Australian Space Agency, the CSIRO, the Defence Science Technology Group and the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), have all supported the conference in more recent years. Since its inception, the conference had been hosted in most states in Australia, and was to be hosted in Perth this year until Curtin University cancelled its involvement in late July 2024.

The comment from the NCSS about academic excellence does not reflect the actual situation of ASRC program management, and certainly not at the time when Curtin University was actively involved. The NSSA has always handled conference operations, but the academics on the conference committee manage the conference program. The AAS, via the NCSS, was a part of this until they withdrew their support.

The conference general organising committee had, at the time of cancellation, the head of the NCSS (who is an academic from Curtin University) as the head of conference programming. There are now currently four other academics on the conference committee for the replacement conference who are actively serving at various universities in Australia, from institutions in Sydney, Canberra, Hobart and Adelaide. One of those academics is a former head of the National Committee for Space Science. These academics have all worked on previous conferences prior to 2024.

The organising committee is hoping to run another ASRC in mid-November 2024. The major sponsor will be the National Space Society of Australia, with support from the Mars Society Australia. As always, for us, academic excellence is a priority.