Sydney-based space technology company Spiral Blue has partnered with the University of Sydney to kickstart the TOLIMAN Space Telescope Mission, an initiative that will apply artificial intelligence in astronomy research and exoplanet detection.
As part of the partnership, Spiral Blue will provide its Space Edge Computers and AI technologies to enhance the data processing capabilities of the Toliman Space Telescope, enabling scientists to efficiently analyse the images captured in orbit and perform data reduction before downlink.
The TOLIMAN space-based observatory is now under construction and will be Australia’s largest.
The payload is a 12.5 cm space telescope that will be carried by a 16U CubeSat bus in a 550 km sun-synchronous orbit and is scheduled to launch in 2024.
Professor Peter Tuthill, lead researcher at the University of Sydney, said using AI to process data from the Alpha Centauri system will open an opportunity to observe the nearby universe to help in the search for habitable planets.
The TOLIMAN partnership recently secured the SmartSat NSW Node demonstrator grant for Revolutionising Commercial Space Computing Leverage the Toliman Space Telescope Mission.
“Our advanced AI-enabled Space Edge Computers will revolutionise the way we process and analyse space data, pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery,” said Taofiq Huq, chief executive officer of Spiral Blue.
Through the TOLIMAN Space Telescope Mission, both Spiral Blue and the University of Sydney seek to make breakthrough discoveries and expand humanity’s current understanding of the universe.
“Together with the University’s expertise in exoplanet research, we aim to unlock the secrets of potentially habitable worlds beyond our solar system,” Huq added.
The latest mission follows the successful launch of Spiral Blue’s latest computer in space, Space Edge One. This marked a historic milestone for Spiral Blue as it became the first Australian company to operate an edge computer in orbit.
