Overview
Overview
This course is one of 13 majors offered in the Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) degree.
It is designed for high-performing students to pursue their interest in space and planetary science through a core of discipline knowledge, alongside project-based learning, leadership and entrepreneurship.
You will gain a solid foundation in space and planetary sciences that you can either deepen or broaden through elective units and year-long, collaborative, student-led projects that are unique to Advanced Science majors.
You can also use elective units to study a minor or specialisation to tailor your degree for technical careers that incorporate, for example, data science, geophysics, artificial intelligence, ICT and intelligent robotics.
The course explores the structure and evolution of the Solar System, including Earth as a planet, and the practicalities of space exploration. Within that realm, your studies will cover space environments and operations and space system design, as well as the key drivers of space exploration.
You'll learn digital technologies and how to gather and interpret data that are relevant to planetary and terrestrial geoscience.
Through embedded research and industry engagement, you can investigate various specialist areas of space and planetary science.
You’ll also benefit from networking opportunities and workshops in career skills, entrepreneurship, leadership and communication.
You’ll graduate with the expertise and innovation mindset to lead in diverse areas of space research and industry – including space exploration, planetary geology, remote sensing, space system design, space operations, global navigation systems and more.
What jobs can the Space and Planetary Science (Advanced) course lead to?
Graduates will be well-positioned for careers in the commercial and government-sponsored space sector including space exploration and remote sensing, space-based Earth observation, access to space services such as satellite communication, global navigation, and other infrastructure operations. The World Economic Forum has reported that the space economy is “creating value for multiple industries and solutions to many of the world’s most pressing challenges”.¹ Domestically, the Australian space sector is projected to grow significantly over the next 10 years.² ³
Careers
- Planetary and space scientist
- Space research and technology consultant
- Space business developer and industry consultant
- Earth geoscientist, geoscientist
- Geoscience data analyst
- Remote sensing scientist
- Global navigation systems expert
Industries
- Space exploration
- Space engineering
- Remote sensing
- Global navigation systems and operations
- Defence science and technology
- Research, innovation and entrepreneurship
1. Space: The $1.8 Trillion Opportunity for Global Economic Growth. World Economic Forum report in knowledge partnership with McKinsey & Company (2024)
2. Advancing Space: Australian Civil Space Strategy 2019–28. Department of Industry, Science and Resources (2019)
3. Western Australian Space Industry Strategy 2024–30. Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation
What you'll learn
- demonstrate an advanced and coherent understanding of the nature and relevance of science, the social and cultural context of space and planetary scientific endeavour, and the contribution of different knowledge systems, including indigenous perspectives, GC5
- demonstrate accountability and work responsibly and respectfully with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and ways of working in a range of applied settings, both as an independent, self-directed scientist and collaboratively within multi-stakeholder partnerships, with cognisance of equity, equality and all appropriate regulatory and professional considerations even where such frameworks may not yet be defined in frontier space and planetary contexts, GC6
- awareness of global citizenship, and capability to address complex global and extraplanetary problems by applying practical and/or theoretical scientific techniques and clean technologies, recognising that space and planetary scientific endeavours are required to comply with ethical and environmentally sustainable standards and to reduce inequalities, GC4
- exhibit depth and breadth of scientific knowledge and excellence in scientific research and application in space exploration, space industry and planetary science, as well as recognition of its links to other disciplines. Contribute new knowledge to these fields of study by designing appropriate investigations; accessing, synthesising, and critically evaluating knowledge from a range of sources using a variety of tools; analysing and interpreting space and planetary data; and constructing arguments and conclusions while recognising the limitations in the approaches used, GC1
- be resilient and equipped to engage in self-driven, continuous and reflective discipline and professional lifelong learning and development, demonstrating acquired discipline and entrepreneurship skills in fostering innovation in space and planetary science to creatively explore problems and drive positive change, GC2
- effectively capacity build, communicate and promote the value of sharing scientific ideas, knowledge, approaches and solutions to a range of audiences (academia, industry, government and public), for a range of purposes in planetary and space exploration and discovery using a variety of oral, textual, visual or other modes, GC3