Created: 2025-01-05
Updated: 2025-09-06
Company - Fleet Space
Product/Service
- Classification
- Space Resources
- Category
- Resources - Asteroid Mining
- Fields
- Prospecting
- Status
- Development
- First launch
- 2026
Australia’s Fleet Space Technologies has raised $100 million to expand its satellite-based mineral exploration capabilities and take the technology to the moon.
Fleet’s ambient noise tomography system, called ExoSphere, is already lighter than alternatives, according to Pearson, and can map 3D subsurface models in days compared to months with conventional techniques.
“But it’s still nine kilos,” he said. “So if you’re hiking through a swamp with one in each hand and two in a backpack — it’s heavy. What we want to do is lighten it up but keep or increase the sensitivity.”
Fleet is currently developing a 600-gram version of the sensor to join Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander mission to the far side of the moon in 2026.
The Australian company aims to use the device, Seismic Payload for Interplanetary Discovery, Exploration, and Research (SPIDER), to record seismic waves to help characterize the moon’s subsurface.
Earlier this year, the Australian Space Agency awarded Fleet a grant worth 4 million Australian dollars ($2.6 million) to develop a geophysical device that will deliver insights about the subsurface of the lunar South Pole and search for water ice deposits.
“[T]he orthodox view in NASA is, if there’s any water ice in regolith, we don’t care if it’s below a meter down because we’ll never be able to access it,” Pearson said.
While SPIDER would stay tethered to the lander over the 14-day mission on the far side of the moon in 2026, Pearson said the company ultimately plans to deploy a network of lunar satellites for connectivity.
News, Research, Projects and Patents
| Title | Type | Date | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet Space Technologies shoots for the Moon and Mars as part of the Seven Sisters consortium of leading space companies | News | 2022-03-10 | > The ultimate purpose is to enable humanity’s exploration of new worlds. The Seven Sisters initiative represents a truly global collaboration. NASA intends to fly the rover to the lunar surface provided it meets a range of conditions during this phase of the collaboration. It is expected to launch in 2026. |
Similar Organizations
Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining
Concept
Asteroid Mining Spacecraft
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining, Transport Service (Re-Entry)
Development
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Active
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Dormant, Concept
Asteroid Prospecting Satellite, SCAR-E
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Early stage, Dormant
Asteromine
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Dormant, Early stage
Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining
Development, Launched
Resources - Asteroid Mining
Dormant
Resources - Asteroid Mining
Dormant
Resources - Asteroid Mining
Early stage, Dormant
Resources - Asteroid Mining
Early stage
Blue Wonder Spacecraft
Resources - Asteroid Mining
Dormant, Concept
Square Rocket
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Microgravity Workspaces, Space Tug, Active Debris Removal (ADR)
Cancelled
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Early stage
Resources - Asteroid Mining
Concept
Deep Space Industries
Xplorer, Prospector-1
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Tug, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)
Dormant
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)
Dormant, Concept
Resources - Asteroid Mining
Dormant
Geoengineering, Propellant Refilling, Propellant Refuel Station, Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining
Development
Resources - Asteroid Mining, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)
Dormant
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Concept
Resources - Asteroid Mining, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)
Early stage, Dormant
Autonomous Transport Platform (ATP)
Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining, Commercial Rover
Cancelled, Development
In-Space Manufacturing, Space Resources, Resources - Asteroid Mining
Cancelled, Pivot
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)
Dormant, Early stage
Beyond-LEO Remote Sensing, Resources - Asteroid Mining, Hardware
Cancelled, Concept
Resources - Asteroid Mining, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)
Early stage
Space Resources, Raw Resources, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization), Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining
Development
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Development
Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining
Early stage
Resources - Asteroid Mining
Active
Resources - Asteroid Mining
Development
Rocket M
Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining
Concept
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Cancelled
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Dormant
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Early stage
Space Resources, Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining
Early stage
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Dormant, Early stage
VentureMiner
Resources - Asteroid Mining
Dormant, Concept
ASTRAEUS, CYCLOPS
Resources - Asteroid Mining, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)
Concept
Surveyor, Excavator, Collector, Hauler, Dozer
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Commercial Rover, Space Mining
Development
NEO-X
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Development
Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining
Cancelled, Concept
Arkyd
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining
Cancelled
Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining, Orbital Transportation
Early stage
Lunar Excavation Vehicle
ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization), Resources - Asteroid Mining, Lunar Data Center Network, Cislunar Space Logistics
Early stage
ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization), Resources - Asteroid Mining
Early stage
Puli Lunar Rover
Commercial Rover, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization), Resources - Asteroid Mining
Development, Launched
Oryx, Mini Space Brake (MSB)
Transport Service (Re-Entry), In-Space Manufacturing, Resources - Water, Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)
Dormant
Suborbital Space Tourism, Resources - Asteroid Mining, Intra-Solar Banking, Space Mining
Dormant, Concept
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Solar Power
Early stage
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining, In-Space Manufacturing
Development
Space Resources, Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining, In-Space Manufacturing
Early stage
Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Mining, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization), Commercial Rover, Orbital Transportation
Early stage
Team LIQUID
Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining
Dormant, Concept
Worker Bee, Sutter Space Telescope
Space Tug, Space Situational Awareness (SSA), Resources - Asteroid Mining, Propellant Refuel Station, Space Mining, In-Space Manufacturing, ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization), Propellant Refilling, Active Debris Removal (ADR)
Development
Droid
Active Debris Removal (ADR), On-Orbit Servicing, Resources - Asteroid Mining, Space Situational Awareness (SSA)
Development, Launched
Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining, Commercial Rover
Early stage
Resources - Asteroid Mining
Early stage
Space Mining, Resources - Asteroid Mining, Hardware, Space Robotics
Early stage