UTAS Mt Pleasurable Observatory. Resource: UTAS

The University of Tasmania is preparing to play a better role in the exploration and use of area with updates to its optical observatory.

The university is established to increase its area monitoring capabilities many thanks to a funding settlement with the Australian Space Agency that was formalised in November final year.

Section of the new capacity will be set up with the set up of two antennae at the university’s Greenhill Observatory, 70km north of Hobart at Bisdee Tier.

A 7m antenna will deliver assistance for a broad variety of satellites and operations from the observatory, while a second dish involving two and a few metres in size will assistance Australian-produced nanosatellites.

Nanosatellites, typically in the form of compact, modular “cubesats” about the size of a loaf of bread, are employed by lecturers and industry to watch area, the environment and Earth’s upper