The NSW Central West boy wanted to build cities in space and become an astronaut.

Mr Barnett, from Narromine, said he always liked the thought of doing something unique in a challenging environment. But he's not sure where the idea to work in space came from.

"I have always been interested in planets, stars, and the development of the universe, and would imagine what these worlds would look like and how they would differ from the Earth," he said.

With his love of space, it was only natural that after graduating from Narromine High School in 2001 he would pursue a space engineering degree.

"Prior to 2002, most aerospace degrees were typically aeronautical degrees with a fancy name. Thankfully my parents took me to numerous university open days and looking through the list of available courses on offer at all of the universities, we found mechanical (space) engineering," Mr Barnett said.

"I do think that it was Mum or Dad who found the course in the course directory - at that time it was a hard copy book with all of the courses available throughout Australia."

In 2005 he became only the second person to have completed the degree.

Mr Barnett joined the oil and gas industry. And the boy from Narromine found himself across the world, working in places like the Middle East.

"Surprisingly, I did have an uncle and aunt who lived in both Saudi Arabia and then Norway when I was growing up, and I did have some small knowledge of both the countries. It was uncanny when I was first shipped to Saudi and then Norway - I had zero influence as to where I was sent," he said.

"I remember as a child that going to Sydney and interstate were huge experiences. And Mum and Dad would invite people over for dinner who had recently returned from travelling overseas. The stories and experiences that these people told, were absolutely fascinating and seemed far beyond what I would ever be able to imagine."

Growing up, Mr Barnett said his family would host Rotary exchange students, and most of his university friends has been overseas, but still, he saw travelling overseas - let along working in another country - as something available for a lucky few.

"When I was offered a job in Saudi [Arabia] straight out of university, I still did not have a passport - so it was an amazing thought that I was going to be able to part of this lucky crowd," he said.

When COVID hit, the international opportunities stopped.

To pass the time, Mr Barnett applied for the University of NSW space mining PhD program.

It was with a UNSW team he recently took part in the Colorado School of Mines and Lockheed Martin Over the Moon challenge, taking on Germany, Canada, Poland and the United States.

Teams had to design and build prototypes that were able to transport moon soil.

"This challenge was to make a simple system that is reliable, light weight, low power requirement, and is not affected by the lunar regolith (soil). The system that the UNSW team designed, Lunar Cable-car Conveyance System, weighed less than 12 kilograms, used 2.5 watts of power, had only a single motor, and two bearings - the bearings are able to be kept a safe distance from any lunar dust and the motor could be shielded from the radiation and temperature fluctuations. The system was designed to transport 100kg soil per hour," Mr Barnett said.

The Australian team, supervised by Mr Barnett, came in third. Canada was awarded first place and Poland second.

"The Over the Moon challenge presented quite a number of positive outcomes: able to understand what NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and ESA (European Space Agency) are looking for in solutions; meeting individuals who are at the peak of the space industry and realising how down to Earth they really are; having put Australia on the global stage for lunar exploration; and, personally knowing that I had been able to achieve something great in the field that I have always wanted to work in," he said.

"Selfishly, I was just happy to know that someone from rural and country Australia, was able to mix with the space professionals."

On a larger scale, the project has much wider implications.

"The transportation and delivery of the lunar soil between equipment is a critical process and a viable solution for the moon is yet to be designed," Mr Barnett said.

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But if such a rover or other device was able to transport the soil to a MRE plant (Molten Regolith Electrolysis plant), it would be able to extract critical compounds from the soil to be used for human activities, such as oxygen.

Mr Barnett is hoping his experience lets students in the Central West know space engineering is "not a fantasy nor out of reach for them".

"Dreams can come true, whether you dream big or small. Many people doubted that I would ever be involved in the space industry, as I did come from a small country town and space engineering was seen as well beyond us, however with support from those who loved me and personal desire to succeed, I have been able to become part of the global space community," he said.

"Anyone who would like to be part of the space industry, it is a growing community domestically in Australia and globally, and is expected to be one of the biggest growth industries globally over the next 10 years.

"Who knows, anyone of you might become the next Australian astronaut."

Mr Barnett has encouraged anyone who is interested in space technologies to reach out. While he doesn't have all the answers, he said he was willing to help put them in touch with the right people.