A Roo on the Moon. 

The votes are in! Roo-ver is the name of Australia’s rover that will head to the Moon with NASA in a future Artemis mission.

As part of a two-phase nationwide competition, which entailed 8,000 name entries and nearly 20,000 public votes, Roo-ver was announced as the winner from the top four shortlist. With 35 per cent of the votes, voters felt Roo-ver reflected the Australian spirit.

The other three shortlisted names for the public to consider were Coolamon, Kakirra and Mateship.

What’s in the name?

Roo-ver was entered by Siwa from New South Wales who said:

“Our lunar rover deserves to be named after something iconically Australian, reflecting the Aussie spirit as we launch into this new endeavour. A kangaroo is part of the Australian Coat of Arms and it's time for Australian science to take the next leap all the way up into space.”

An illustration of Australia's rover on the moon

Space matters

Reflecting on the competition, Head of the Australian Space Agency Enrico Palermo found the high engagement from the Australian public a promising sign for the future.

“This competition has been an important way for us to bring the Australian people with us on what is our ‘boldest adventure yet’. With Roo-ver we can continue to inspire Australians by showing the boundary pushing work being done right here, and the ways that space benefits our everyday lives.

What is the lunar rover’s mission?

The Australian Space Agency, in partnership with NASA, is working with Australia’s space industry to design and build Australia’s first lunar rover, Roo-ver.

ELO2 is the industry consortium that will design and develop the fully realised rover for its mission to the Moon.  ELO2 is made up of start-ups, SMEs, major resources companies, universities and other research partners. 

Roo-ver will be carried to the lunar surface on CT-4 around the end of this decade. Its journey to the Moon will be delivered through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.

NASA has entrusted the Australian lunar rover with key research objectives, including to collect new data about the surface of the Moon to support international space science and exploration goals. 

While demonstrating Australian innovations on the Moon, Roo-ver will also be supercharged with an integrated NASA payload – an analysis instrument intended to demonstrate technology for scientific and exploration purposes. 

In time, Roo-ver’s explorations will help global efforts to establish possible sustainable human presence in space.

Note: This article was updated on 17 December 2024 after ELO2 was selected to design and build the nation’s first lunar rover for the Australian Space Agency. 
A lunar rover demonstrating its functions

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Meet Roo-ver

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