❓ Mr Catania asks about the significance of the Carnarvon Space Festival and Carnarvon's role in the space program. The Minister for Regional Development responds, highlighting Carnarvon's historical importance and the government's investment in space-related initiatives.
AnsweredQoN 353Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CARNARVON SPACE
FESTIVAL
353. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Regional
Development:
Tomorrow and Saturday, Carnarvon will be holding the
inaugural Carnarvon Space Festival and will host legendary astronaut Buzz
Aldrin, who was part of the Apollo mission that landed the first man on the
moon in 1969. Can the minister outline to the house Carnarvon's role in
the space program and the significance of this weekend's event?
FESTIVAL
353. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Regional
Development:
Tomorrow and Saturday, Carnarvon will be holding the
inaugural Carnarvon Space Festival and will host legendary astronaut Buzz
Aldrin, who was part of the Apollo mission that landed the first man on the
moon in 1969. Can the minister outline to the house Carnarvon's role in
the space program and the significance of this weekend's event?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for North West
for the question, and my, my—it will be a big weekend in Carnarvon! The
people of Carnarvon are very, very pleased to welcome Dr Buzz Aldrin to Western
Australia and the excitement is palpable. The people of Carnarvon and the
Gascoyne will be very, very pleased to meet such a legend of space exploration.
The first Carnarvon Space Festival will be held this Friday and Saturday, and
the event has been driven by the local community and through the Minister for
Tourism has received funding through the regional events scheme—another
wonderful use of that funding scheme. The festival will coincide with the
official opening of the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum. In a great coup
for Carnarvon, Dr Aldrin has travelled to Western Australia to officially open
stage 1 of the new museum and he will hold a question-and-answer session with
young children from across the Gascoyne region. For those members who remember
the 1969 moon landing, the images of Aldrin and Armstrong were relayed through
the Carnarvon tracking station, so Carnarvon played a key role in the world
seeing man's first step on the moon. The images are some of the most
famous in history. As an interesting aside, in my copious research on this
issue because of the member for North West's interest, the vast
majority of pictures of man on the moon are actually of Buzz Aldrin, because
Neil Armstrong had the camera. Although Neil Armstrong takes all the credit,
Buzz Aldrin is in all the pictures, and I look forward to having a discussion
with Aldrin about that. Carnarvon's new Space and Technology Museum
will document Carnarvon's significant role in space history. The
facility was used to support the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration through the Gemini, Apollo and Skylab
programs. More than 20 former staff members of the Carnarvon tracking station
will be in Carnarvon this weekend to be formally recognised for their role in
space exploration history. I think it is quite interesting that this is
happening at a time when Western Australia is again moving to the forefront of
technology in this area.
Mr
F.M. Logan interjected.
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : No the member's was! The midwest and Gascoyne is a
hotspot for innovation in radio astronomy and the state government is fostering
the emerging space industry by developing new technologies to support
facilities located in WA. After the exceptional work by the Minister for
Science and Innovation—a week after the opposition criticised him for
not doing enough in the science and innovation space—he announced that
Western Australia had become the dual host of the world's largest radio
astronomy telescope, the Square Kilometre Array. The state government committed
$70 million and the commonwealth $300 million to support the Australia–New
Zealand bid for the SKA. Western Australia will continue to play a key role in
space research and the Minister for Science and Innovation should be
congratulated for that. The SKA will be the largest and most sensitive radio
telescope in the world, crossing geographical and political boundaries driven
by the common goal of exploring our place in the universe.
Before I sit, I recognise the work of the member for North
West in bringing Buzz Aldrin to Western Australia.
Several members interjected.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
Well may you laugh, but when 400 people join the member for North West in his
community tomorrow evening to meet Buzz Aldrin, they will do so because the
member worked with his community, came up with the idea, fundraised to get the
money and brought Buzz Aldrin to Carnarvon and to the Gascoyne region. Well
done, member for North West!
for the question, and my, my—it will be a big weekend in Carnarvon! The
people of Carnarvon are very, very pleased to welcome Dr Buzz Aldrin to Western
Australia and the excitement is palpable. The people of Carnarvon and the
Gascoyne will be very, very pleased to meet such a legend of space exploration.
The first Carnarvon Space Festival will be held this Friday and Saturday, and
the event has been driven by the local community and through the Minister for
Tourism has received funding through the regional events scheme—another
wonderful use of that funding scheme. The festival will coincide with the
official opening of the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum. In a great coup
for Carnarvon, Dr Aldrin has travelled to Western Australia to officially open
stage 1 of the new museum and he will hold a question-and-answer session with
young children from across the Gascoyne region. For those members who remember
the 1969 moon landing, the images of Aldrin and Armstrong were relayed through
the Carnarvon tracking station, so Carnarvon played a key role in the world
seeing man's first step on the moon. The images are some of the most
famous in history. As an interesting aside, in my copious research on this
issue because of the member for North West's interest, the vast
majority of pictures of man on the moon are actually of Buzz Aldrin, because
Neil Armstrong had the camera. Although Neil Armstrong takes all the credit,
Buzz Aldrin is in all the pictures, and I look forward to having a discussion
with Aldrin about that. Carnarvon's new Space and Technology Museum
will document Carnarvon's significant role in space history. The
facility was used to support the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration through the Gemini, Apollo and Skylab
programs. More than 20 former staff members of the Carnarvon tracking station
will be in Carnarvon this weekend to be formally recognised for their role in
space exploration history. I think it is quite interesting that this is
happening at a time when Western Australia is again moving to the forefront of
technology in this area.
Mr
F.M. Logan interjected.
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : No the member's was! The midwest and Gascoyne is a
hotspot for innovation in radio astronomy and the state government is fostering
the emerging space industry by developing new technologies to support
facilities located in WA. After the exceptional work by the Minister for
Science and Innovation—a week after the opposition criticised him for
not doing enough in the science and innovation space—he announced that
Western Australia had become the dual host of the world's largest radio
astronomy telescope, the Square Kilometre Array. The state government committed
$70 million and the commonwealth $300 million to support the Australia–New
Zealand bid for the SKA. Western Australia will continue to play a key role in
space research and the Minister for Science and Innovation should be
congratulated for that. The SKA will be the largest and most sensitive radio
telescope in the world, crossing geographical and political boundaries driven
by the common goal of exploring our place in the universe.
Before I sit, I recognise the work of the member for North
West in bringing Buzz Aldrin to Western Australia.
Several members interjected.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
Well may you laugh, but when 400 people join the member for North West in his
community tomorrow evening to meet Buzz Aldrin, they will do so because the
member worked with his community, came up with the idea, fundraised to get the
money and brought Buzz Aldrin to Carnarvon and to the Gascoyne region. Well
done, member for North West!
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