Who's Really Behind the Fake Aussie Space Org, ARSE: An Investigation

It was all strangely convincing, until it wasn't.

A few weeks ago, the Australian government announced it was looking into creating a national space agency to help create more jobs and increase satellite technology for farmers.

Senator Arthur Sinodinos explained to reporters that the review was looking into how to set the scene for the space industry in Australia. "And in that context, what role changed governance arrangements could play, including possibly the role of a space agency," Senator Sinodinos said.

One Twitter user suggested calling it Australian Rockets and Space Exploration (ARSE).

So are we going to call the Australia space program: Australian Rockets and Space Exploration (ARSE) or not?
— Alex Sharples (@a_sharples) September 25, 2017

But then, ARSE took on a life of its own, albeit with a slightly more legitimate sounding name change.

Some professional pranksters decided to register the domain for spaceaustralia.com.au and made a very official looking website to promote space exploration in Australia and sell some very iconic shirts.

In a media statement provided to Student Edge, ARSE stated they were an independent campaign that wanted to "push harder to create new opportunities in science and technology." They also wanted to "urge the public to get behind a new space program that will explore the deep unknown."

It's some very subtle stuff.

But people have had an incredibly hard time discerning whether it's a parody or The Real Thing. Such faith in the Australian bureaucracy.

My bullshit detector is acting up: I can’t tell if @space_aus (Australian Research & Space Exploration) is a parody account or not. #ARSE https://t.co/s7MgrY9R6I
— Chris Devers 👨‍🎤☔️ (@cdevers) September 27, 2017

Please tell me that the Australian Space agency isn't called arse,... please please please tell me this is a joke or a wind up? https://t.co/EAahpnLkyn
— Nick Howes (@NickAstronomer) September 27, 2017

They (almost) fooled us so hard, so Student Edge decided to launch an investigation into who the damn hell was behind this ultimate prank.

Upon looking up the details of who registered the domain of spaceaustralia.com.au, we discovered an ABN from Queensland. That same ABN was also linked to NT Unofficial, as well as few other clothing businesses, which got our brains ticking.

You may remember the controversial "C U in the NT" campaign from last year, which sparked a whole range of opinions and fooled many into thinking it was the territory's official tourism campaign. The geniuses behind this were NT Unofficial and they've continued to sell their hilarious merch through their website.

But NT Unofficial and ARSE are registered by the same ABN, meaning it's very likely (99.9 per cent) they are the same people.