Lunar Outpost Oceania has expanded its advanced manufacturing and autonomy capabilityin Melbourne, establishing a new 1,200 square metre regional headquarters that integrates advanced manufacturing, fabrication and testing capabilities.
Supported by the Victorian Government through the International Investment and Attraction Fund and the Defence Supply Chain Uplift Program, the expansion strengthens Victoria’s position in space technologies, advanced robotics and autonomous systems.
The investment is expected to create 21 high-skilled jobs across engineering, manufacturing and operations, while enabling the company to scale commercial delivery of its technologies.
Lunar Outpost Oceania is the technical lead and overall co-lead of the ELO₂ Consortium, delivering Roo-ver, Australia’s first lunar rover. Its commercial focus extends well beyond space missions.
The company employs a dynamic and lean development methodology and is an attractive commercial partner for businesses wishing to apply technologies developed for space missions to near-Earth and terrestrial environments.
The company applies its specialised expertise to applications requiring autonomy, resilience and remote operations, tailoring its approach to the specific demands of each application.
We’re building a portfolio of programs that apply the same engineering principles that guide Lunar Outpost Oceania’s work on the lunar rover – resilience, autonomy and adaptability.
Drawing on our unique capabilities in autonomy and operating in extreme conditions, we’re able to solve complex challenges across defence, communications , mining and other industry sectors.
Gerard Pearce
Regional Director at Lunar Outpost Oceania
Early engagement by Invest Victoria with parent company Lunar Outpost Inc., a global space leader, identified Victoria as an ideal location for establishing its growing regional footprint in Australia. With a thriving space research and deep-tech ecosystem, coupled with advanced manufacturing capabilities, Melbourne was an obvious choice.
Establishing this new headquarters reflects our commitment to bridging the gap between technical capability and commercial impact.
Kathie van Vugt
Operations Director at Lunar Outpost Oceania
This facility gives us the infrastructure to scale, proximity to industry and academia to support R&D collaborations, and the ability to grow a highly skilled workforce in Victoria.
Gerard Pearce
Regional Director at Lunar Outpost Oceania
About Lunar Outpost Oceania
Lunar Outpost Oceania (LOOC) is an Australian company developing autonomous systems for complex, remote, and high-risk environments on Earth and beyond. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lunar Outpost Inc., headquartered in Golden, Colorado.
Lunar Outpost Inc. is a global leader in space robotics, lunar surface mobility, and in-space infrastructure, with an active portfolio spanning lunar, Mars, Earth orbit, and terrestrial operations. The company operated MOXIE on Mars - the first demonstration of resource extraction on another planet, converting CO₂ into oxygen. Its Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) became the first commercial rover to land on another planetary body and the first rover at the lunar South Pole. In a future mission, MAPP will deploy alongside Artemis astronauts as the first robotic rover to operate with crew on the lunar surface.
LOOC was established in Melbourne in 2022 to build on this heritage within the Australian space and technology ecosystem. As co-lead of the ELO₂ Consortium delivering Australia’s first lunar rover, the company advances innovation in autonomy, mobility and systems design, with a focus on applying space-proven technologies to terrestrial sectors such as mining, defence and infrastructure.
The group is on a mission to enable an extended human presence on the Moon and beyond while harnessing space-based innovation to deliver positive impact on Earth.
