The US embassy in Canberra celebrated both the anniversary of the moon landing and of the United States' independence at a high-powered event at Questacon on Tuesday, when Dr Megan Clark said Australia needed to return to its position at the forefront of space exploration.

"The legacy of Honeysuckle and Parkes shows the world that Australia has the capability, we have the entrepreneurship, we can respond, and we need to get back to that," Dr Clark said.

"We were right there at that time in the '60s [of the moon landing] and we have not been right there in the decades to follow."

Australia's tracking stations at Honeysuckle Creek and Tidbinbilla on Canberra's outskirts were an integral part of the Apollo missions, while Parkes famously transmitted most of the footage of the moon landing in 1969.

While the partnership between the CSIRO and NASA had been maintained in the years since, Dr Clark said Australia was sending a signal to the world by starting the Australian Space Agency.

"We want to bring our ideas to the world, we want to partner with the world and we have all of the capability and entrepreneurship and now we have the will of the Australian government through the Australian Space Agency and we're seeing the country respond."

"The response has been extraordinary from the people of Australia, from our partners and researchers, so we're keen to catch up."

READ MORE:

United States ambassador Arthur B Culvahouse Jr also paid tribute to the work of Australians during the moon landing.

"Very few people would have seen it happen in real time, but for the essential cooperation between Australia and the United States."

"Thanks to the technology at the Honeysuckle Creek tracking station and the Parkes radio telescope, Australian trackers overcame last-minute setbacks to show the world the real time image of Neil Armstrong descending from the lunar capsule and taking his giant leap for mankind," he said.