Representatives from Australia and the United States have signed a framework agreement to strengthen collaboration in aeronautics and space exploration between the two nations, at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2025 in Sydney.
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy and Australian Space Agency (ASA) Head Enrico Palermo signed the agreement Tuesday 30 September 2025 on behalf of their countries, respectively.
“Australia is an important and longtime space partner, from Apollo to Artemis, and this agreement depends on that partnership,” Duffy said.
“International agreements like this one work to leverage our resources and increase our capacities and scientific returns for all, proving critical to NASA’s plans from low Earth orbit to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”
Known as the “Framework Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Australia on Cooperation in Aeronautics and the Exploration and Use of Airspace and Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes,” it recognizes cooperation that’s mutually beneficial for the US and Australia and establishes the legal framework under which the countries will work together.
“Strengthening Australia’s partnership with the U.S. and NASA creates new opportunities for Australian ideas and technologies, improving Australia’s industrial capability, boosting productivity, and building economic resilience,” Australian Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science, Tim Ayres, stated.
Potential areas for cooperation include space exploration, space science, Earth science including geodesy, space medicine and life sciences, aeronautics research, and technology.
NASA has collaborated with Australia on civil space activities since 1960, when the two countries signed their first cooperative space agreement. The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex played a role in supporting NASA’s Apollo Program, most notably during the Apollo 13 mission. Today, the complex is one of three global stations in NASA’s Deep Space Network, supporting both robotic and human spaceflight missions.
As part of an existing partnership with the ASA, Australia is developing a semi-autonomous lunar rover, which will carry a NASA analysis instrument intended to demonstrate technology for scientific and exploration purposes. The rover is scheduled to launch by the end of this decade through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative.