Melissa is the deputy director and chief investigator of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants 4 Space and Professor of Space Law, Policy, and Governance at Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources, University of Adelaide.

Melissa is a prominent legal researcher working in the areas of commercial and military uses of outer space, encompassing both domestic and international space law. She has worked closely with the Australian space industry, including serving as Deputy Director and Board Member of the Space Industry Association of Australia, as well as on the successful bid team for the 2025 International Astronautical Congress to be held in Sydney. She has published widely on all legal and regulatory aspects of the space environment.

After earning his Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Adelaide, Dr Matthew delved into cutting-edge research during his PhD at the Space Systems Institute in Stuttgart, Germany. Starting off his career as a systems engineer, Matthew engaged in diverse projects spanning defence and non-defence domains.

In 2012, he established Inovor Technologies, driven by a mission to collaborate closely with the defense sector and pioneer advancements in satellite technologies. Inovor is now a leading space and defence technology company based in Adelaide that specialises in end-to-end satellite mission solutions building satellites of various sizes for a wide range of missions, including space domain awareness, Earth imaging, communications, climate science, AgTech, scientific experimentation, and more. Matt aims to create cutting-edge solutions that address pressing challenges and enhance the quality of life for individuals and communities alike. With Inovor's proactive approach to technological advancement, Matthew’s vision is to continuously push the boundaries of space and defence capabilities in Australia.

Stéphane Marouani is the country manager at MathWorks Australia, with more than 20 years of experience in the IT industry. He is responsible for maintaining the company’s long-term growth and strategic direction in Australia and New Zealand. Before joining MathWorks in February 2012, Stéphane was the WebSphere sales manager for IBM Australia and the country manager for ILOG Australia. He has experience working with multiple industry sectors, including government, finance, insurance, information technology, and telecommunications. Stéphane has a degree in engineering in computer science applied to computer vision from the École Polytechnique of Nice Sophia-Antipolis in France. He also researched robotics and artificial intelligence in his postgraduate studies at the University of Southern California.

Sarah Wei is a journalist and producer based in Melbourne and Hong Kong, with a focus on the travel, lifestyle, and arts and culture sectors. She has produced over 35 talks and workshops with 120 speakers, three large-scale 5-day events, over 20 community events,  one VR/AR exhibition, and more than 150 published features and stories across the region.