The nation's first astronaut will chair an advisory group to find ways to involve Australians in more international space missions - even if it just provides the landing strip.
"The (group) reinforces Australia's intention of becoming a major player in the international space industry," Warren Entsch, parliamentary secretary to Industry Minister Nick Minchin, said in a statement.
Entsch said Australia could boost its involvement in international space programmes by capitalising on its place in space history - including its crucial role in transmitting signals from the US Apollo 11 mission during the moon landing by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969.
"This could include such things as Australia taking a direct role in testing and providing landing sites for NASA's new X-38 international space station crew rescue vehicle, right through to possible collaboration in the development of habitation modules for the (station) and space-based research in the life sciences."
The group will be chaired by Australia's first astronaut, Paul Scully-Power, and include industry leaders, researchers and current Australian astronaut Andrew Thomas, who completed a 141-day mission on Russia's Mir station in 1998 and was part of the eighth US shuttle mission to the new international space station in March.
"Space is part of the fabric today, it certainly will be even bigger in the future and we intend to position this country to take full advantage of that," Scully-Power told reporters.
Entsch said Australia needed to find ways to become involved in the international space station and other space programmes to help develop and maintain the country's fledgling space sector.
Australia signed a deal with Russia's space agency in May to open the country's first commercial satellite launch pad within three years, a move Entsch said may open the doors to wider involvement in the space industry.
"If successful, they will provide a host of current and follow-on opportunities for space systems, engineering, telecommunications and infrastructure," he said.
