The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) invites you to participate in a short survey about your
interaction with the ARDC and use of our national research infrastructure and services. The survey will take
approximately 5 minutes and is anonymous. It’s open to anyone who uses our digital research infrastructure
services including Reasearch Link Australia.
We will use the information you provide to improve the national research infrastructure and services we
deliver and to report on user satisfaction to the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research
Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program.
Please take a few minutes to provide your input. The survey closes COB Friday 29 May 2026.
Complete the 5 min survey now by clicking on the link below.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100165
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$792,859.00
Summary
Veloce Verde+Azzuro - Tripling the Power of Australia's Planet Foundry. This project aims to better understand humanity’s place in the Universe, including questions such as whether we are alone or if our home in the Solar System is unique or common. This project will enable new observations using a revolutionary Australian facility, Veloce Verde+Azzuro. Moving beyond discovering habitable planets around dim red stars, it will enable science on the properties and system architectures of planets o ....Veloce Verde+Azzuro - Tripling the Power of Australia's Planet Foundry. This project aims to better understand humanity’s place in the Universe, including questions such as whether we are alone or if our home in the Solar System is unique or common. This project will enable new observations using a revolutionary Australian facility, Veloce Verde+Azzuro. Moving beyond discovering habitable planets around dim red stars, it will enable science on the properties and system architectures of planets orbiting stars like the Sun. It will deliver a ten-fold increase in collecting power for Sun-like stars, providing understanding of how exoplanetary systems, and our Solar System, were formed.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100055
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,000.00
Summary
The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP). The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP): The aim of the Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP) is to fund the construction costs of an innovative instrument to be built in Australia and installed onto the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) VISTA telescope. Australia leads the world in fibre-positioning instrumentation and their scientific exploitation. This project will allow Australi ....The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP). The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP): The aim of the Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP) is to fund the construction costs of an innovative instrument to be built in Australia and installed onto the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) VISTA telescope. Australia leads the world in fibre-positioning instrumentation and their scientific exploitation. This project will allow Australian researchers to take a leading role through major studies of the spatial distributions of galaxies. The outcomes of the project will be construction and delivery of an optical fibre-positioning system to the ESO, resulting in general access to the ESO's premier survey facility for eight Australian researchers.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100145
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$430,000.00
Summary
Australian membership of the European 4MOST Consortium. Australian membership of the European 4MOST consortium:
The objective of this project is to build the positioner at the Australian Astronomical Observatory to enable participation in the upcoming programs of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The 4MOST Consortium is modifying one of the ESO telescopes for a 10-year campaign of dedicated wide-field astronomy programs. A key component of this upgrade will be the Australian built fibre- ....Australian membership of the European 4MOST Consortium. Australian membership of the European 4MOST consortium:
The objective of this project is to build the positioner at the Australian Astronomical Observatory to enable participation in the upcoming programs of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The 4MOST Consortium is modifying one of the ESO telescopes for a 10-year campaign of dedicated wide-field astronomy programs. A key component of this upgrade will be the Australian built fibre-positioning system. In exchange for covering the labour costs associated with this instrument, Australian astronomers are being provided with the opportunity to lead one of the eight design reference missions and to participate in the other seven. The potential benefits are therefore two-fold: showcasing Australian technologies, and a leadership role for Australian scientists on one of ESO’s key facilities.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100087
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$760,000.00
Summary
Veloce - Australia's Next-Generation Planet Foundry. Veloce - Australia's next-generation planet foundry: This project will deliver to Australian astronomers a high-resolution, ultra-stabilised, red-wavelength-optimised spectrograph capable of delivering high-precision doppler velocities for the transiting exoplanet host-stars being discovered now by southern hemisphere transit-planet searches, and for the coming wave of discoveries to be made by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TES ....Veloce - Australia's Next-Generation Planet Foundry. Veloce - Australia's next-generation planet foundry: This project will deliver to Australian astronomers a high-resolution, ultra-stabilised, red-wavelength-optimised spectrograph capable of delivering high-precision doppler velocities for the transiting exoplanet host-stars being discovered now by southern hemisphere transit-planet searches, and for the coming wave of discoveries to be made by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). In addition it will enable a vast suite of new research programs in exoplanetary science and galactic archaeology, as well as providing a sound base of ultra-stable infrastructure enabling future expansion to cover the full optical wavelength range at minimal cost.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics. The ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) will establish Australia as a world-leader in the emerging discipline of wide-field astronomy. CAASTRO will answer fundamental questions about the nature of the Universe, develop innovative ways of processing enormous data-sets, and enable a diverse set of opportunities for students and early career researchers. By bringing Australia's top astronomers together into a focused collabo ....ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics. The ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) will establish Australia as a world-leader in the emerging discipline of wide-field astronomy. CAASTRO will answer fundamental questions about the nature of the Universe, develop innovative ways of processing enormous data-sets, and enable a diverse set of opportunities for students and early career researchers. By bringing Australia's top astronomers together into a focused collaboration, CAASTRO will cement Australia's reputation as an international leader in astrophysical research, will build unique expertise in wide-field radio and optical astronomy and will position Australia to lead the science programmes planned for the Square Kilometre Array.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100014
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,000.00
Summary
VeloceCal: Hyper-Calibrating Australia's Planet Foundry. VeloceCal: hyper-calibrating Australia's planet foundry:
VeloceCal aims to deliver a hyper-calibration capability to Australia's premier high-resolution optical spectrograph, such that instrumental drifts will make an insignificant contribution to the system's Doppler velocity measurement capabilities. This would transform Australian capabilities for the measurement of masses (and so densities) for the lowest mass planets which will be em ....VeloceCal: Hyper-Calibrating Australia's Planet Foundry. VeloceCal: hyper-calibrating Australia's planet foundry:
VeloceCal aims to deliver a hyper-calibration capability to Australia's premier high-resolution optical spectrograph, such that instrumental drifts will make an insignificant contribution to the system's Doppler velocity measurement capabilities. This would transform Australian capabilities for the measurement of masses (and so densities) for the lowest mass planets which will be emerging from NASA's next-generation Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) from 2017 onwards. VeloceCal would play a pivotal role in determining whether the smallest planets found by TESS are terrestrial (like the Earth) or icy (like Neptune), and in unambiguously discovering terrestrial planets orbiting low-mass stars in habitable orbits.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100009
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,160.00
Summary
Doubling the power of a unique astronomical survey facility. This project aims to double the number of fibres in the spectrograph on the UK Schmidt Telescope and so double the number of stars and galaxies that it can observe simultaneously. This would allow rapid and timely completion of two major projects: the Taipan galaxy survey would be first to test a potential discrepancy in the expansion rate of the universe that may signal new physics, while the FunnelWeb stellar survey would (in tandem ....Doubling the power of a unique astronomical survey facility. This project aims to double the number of fibres in the spectrograph on the UK Schmidt Telescope and so double the number of stars and galaxies that it can observe simultaneously. This would allow rapid and timely completion of two major projects: the Taipan galaxy survey would be first to test a potential discrepancy in the expansion rate of the universe that may signal new physics, while the FunnelWeb stellar survey would (in tandem with two space missions) identify potential nearby exoplanets and trace the history of the Milky Way. The benefits include high scientific impact for the two surveys, international showcasing of the Australian Starbug technology, and a national astronomical survey facility for the next decade.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100052
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,000.00
Summary
TAIPAN - a spectrograph to survey the southern sky. TAIPAN - a spectrograph to survey the southern sky: The TAIPAN spectroscopic survey of the southern sky aims to quadruple the number of nearby galaxies with measured redshifts, distances and velocities. Science goals include measuring the expansion rate of the universe to 1 per cent precision, and combining optical spectroscopy and radio data for each galaxy to measure the rate at which gas is being converted into stars in the local universe. T ....TAIPAN - a spectrograph to survey the southern sky. TAIPAN - a spectrograph to survey the southern sky: The TAIPAN spectroscopic survey of the southern sky aims to quadruple the number of nearby galaxies with measured redshifts, distances and velocities. Science goals include measuring the expansion rate of the universe to 1 per cent precision, and combining optical spectroscopy and radio data for each galaxy to measure the rate at which gas is being converted into stars in the local universe. This project supports construction of the TAIPAN high-performance spectrograph that will be used to carry out the survey on the UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST). The results of the survey will be made freely available to all Australian astronomers.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100104
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$740,000.00
Summary
Mapping the universe with the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS). This project plans to build a powerful new observatory, Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS-2), to be located in Hawaii. PanSTARRS-2 will have an enormous fish-eye-lens view of the northern stars, which we will combine with Australian telescopes to give a unique view of the entire sky. Australian scientists will use this data to solve fundamental problems in astrophysics an ....Mapping the universe with the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS). This project plans to build a powerful new observatory, Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS-2), to be located in Hawaii. PanSTARRS-2 will have an enormous fish-eye-lens view of the northern stars, which we will combine with Australian telescopes to give a unique view of the entire sky. Australian scientists will use this data to solve fundamental problems in astrophysics and cosmology.Read moreRead less