In 1969, it was one small step for man. In 2019, it’s one giant gold rush for mankind. And Australia wants in.

A generation ago, rockets were fuelled by national pride and Cold War fears. Now they’re powered by entrepreneurs, start-ups and countries hoping to claim their share of the spoils.

Humanity’s relationship with space has changed. We’ve gone from explorers in what was a new domain to start-up founders and even potential prospectors in space mining.

The main players: China, the United States, Europe and India, now have to compete with private space companies such as Elon Musk’s ambitious SpaceX.