Australia’s contribution to the global space industry has grown with a CSIRO developing a mapping device for the International Space Station.
CSIRO Senior Mechanical Engineer Lauren Hanson led a hardware design and development team on an atypical mission to 3D-image the 26-year-old International Space Station (ISS) interior.
The Advanced Mechatronics System Team within the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group at CSIRO’s Data61 had their multi-resolution scanner (MRS) boosted into orbit last year. It’s now in use by the ISS’s autonomous flying Astrobee robots. It wasn’t supposed to be hard.
The joint project with Boeing and NASA combined and adapted existing CSIRO sensing technologies used in mining and manufacturing. This included two stereo cameras and three time-of-flight sensors and inertial measurement units. The task was to make it all resilient and safe enough for use in space.
But the supplier of a key component of the 3D-sensing and mapping payload suddenly ceased using USB2 data connectors as the instrument was being constructed. That left USB3 as the only alternative.
What’s the problem with 10-times-faster data-transfer speeds?
“One of our biggest bugbears was with USB3 being so very noisy,” Hanson told create. “They’re very similar-looking cables, but it was an electromagnetic interference (EMI) nightmare. And we were the first payload to use USB3 on the Astrobee.”
Electronic interference can be a matter of life and death in the zero-gravity tin can that is the ISS. “Noisy” currents create electric and magnetic fields. These can inject false signals into nearby devices, distort sensors and disrupt data transfers. And electrostatic discharge could spark a fire.
“There was a lot of trying to isolate what the USB3 component was emitting,” Hanson said.

NASA has carefully defined EMI safety standards. So, the challenge was to find ways to securely wrap the cables with appropriate shielding.
“It took a whole lot of testing. And that means measuring everything from how much EMI was leaking through to vibration testing to be certain our connectors were adequately secured.”
It was a scramble, but the MRS module was completed and delivered early in 2024. By August, ISS astronauts had fitted it to the payload bays of one of their AstroBee robots.
“As the mechanical engineer, I can say the sensor’s power is on. Everything seems connected and functional. So I’m happy.”
But Hanson added that important lessons were learned.
“There were some required parts that we needed, such as mating connectors, specific magnets, specific thread and inserts,” she explained. “They’re readily available in the US, but trying to get them [in Australia] is costly. It’s time-consuming. So, if you suddenly discover you don’t quite have enough, it adds a substantial delay.
“That definitely hit us once or twice.”
On the one page
The other problem was expected, but more difficult than anticipated: NASA speaks a different language.
“We’ve got an in-house workshop, which is fabulous,” Hanson said. “But I’m sending them detailed drawings saying, ‘Look, I understand this is part imperial and part metric. I’m very sorry.’ “That definitely produced a few moments of stress.”
The solution was to test to ensure the right tolerances and standards were being met.
Then there’s the matter of space and weight. One NASA requirement was to place a fine stainless steel mesh across the whole payload package.
“That added quite a substantial amount of mass for your small payload mass budget,” Hanson explained.
It’s not needed on Earth but it’s a vital fire containment measure and finger-protector in space.
“The computer gets to perhaps 80°C. The safety requirements are so much more stringent.”

NASA made its Astrobee available at the Ames Research Centre. This was important as the MRS needed to occupy two of its payload slots for the necessary power and room.
“This was a first for us [and] for NASA. So we’re tackling these challenges together, trying to make sure we can effectively and reliably mount this hardware using latches and connectors that were generally not intended to be used this way.”
NASA’s testing facilities were extensive and combined.
“In Australia, it’s simply not as easy,” Hanson added. “The facilities can be quite dispersed and not necessarily close to where you’re building the hardware. But testing is absolutely crucial.”
And every unexpected problem demanded unscheduled testing.
“That’s something we struggled with. But, because of our relationship with Boeing, we got all the EMI and vibration testing we needed. Without it, our payload almost certainly wouldn’t be in space today.”
And while testing facilities were scarce, so was the skill and understanding needed to exploit them properly.
“I absolutely wish we’d started the testing earlier.”