Hobart-based Earth observation company, Geoneon, and its CEO were the stars of the recent Australian Space Awards.

Three awards were handed to the company and its co-founder, Roxane Bandini-Maeder, at a ceremony in Sydney this month.

The contest saw 160 finalists whittled down to 28 winning individuals and organisations from right across Australia’s wide-ranging space sector.

Geoneon was awarded Business of the Year – SME, while Bandini-Maeder was not only named Female Space Leader of the Year, but also received the Excellence Award, the highest individual honour of the evening.

“Winning three Australian Space Awards is an incredible recognition for Geoneon and for the team behind the work,” said Bandini-Maeder.

And this is not the first award the company CEO has received. Last year, Bandini-Maeder was chosen as the 2025 Tasmania Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year for her work on climate and disaster risk analysis.

What does Geoneon do?

Geoneon describes itself as a space-enabled technology company that applies satellite imagery, artificial intelligence and data fusion to map climate risk and vegetation.

Spatial Source has previously reported on some of Geoneon’s work. In 2024, Geoneon produced the Greater Hobart Bushfire Exposure Index, which was then updated the following year.

The 2025 Index, produced in partnership with several Tasmanian councils, assesses exposure for approximately 112,000 buildings across the Greater Hobart area.

The Index combines satellite-derived vegetation maps with terrain, climate and built-environment data to estimate the fire exposure of buildings if surrounding bushland were to burn.

“We are proud to be building space-enabled technology from Tasmania and applying it to some of the most practical challenges facing communities, infrastructure owners and land managers,” said Bandini-Maeder.

Earth observation’s important role in society

Bandini-Maeder says it encouraging to see the “downstream space sector” being recognised through the Australian Space Awards.

“Space is not only about launch, satellites and hardware — it is also about how we use satellite data and space-enabled technology to create real-world impact on the ground,” Bandini-Maeder said.

“For us, satellite data is only powerful when it can be translated into decisions.

“These awards recognise not only the technology, but the role Earth observation can play in helping communities and organisations prepare earlier, plan better and build resilience.”