Astronaut A5 Next · built to take your farm further
Astronaut A5 Next · built to take your farm further
Astronaut A5 Next · built to take your farm further
Your herd, read quarter by quarter, every single milking.
On grazing farms across Australia, the Lely Astronaut A5 Next turns every visit to the robot into a health check — measuring, comparing and flagging what matters, so a problem quarter gets found in the data long before you'd ever spot it from the teat.
Built for the paddock
Not a barn system with grazing bolted on.
Lely's free cow traffic principle and the I-flow entry were shaped by more than two decades on pasture-based farms, going back to the first robot milking a grazing herd in Gippsland in 2001. The A5 Next carries that thinking forward.
Paired with Lely Grazeway drafting gates, cows draft themselves between the robot and up to three or more grazing breaks a day — the same rotational principle Lely has refined on pasture farms for over 15 years.
Free cow traffic means she walks in on her own schedule, motivated by fresh grass and feed, not a fetched mob at set milking times.
Many conversions retrofit into the current dairy, rather than requiring a new building - your local Lely Farm Management Specialists can assess space and cow flow on-site.
Data · AI · Diagnostics
The ABC of what the A5 Next actually gives you.
A
Data
Every quarter, every milking, logged automatically — no extra handling, no separate test.
- Milk yield and milking interval, per cow and per quarter
- Conductivity, colour and temperature of the milk
- An indication of fat and protein
- Visit frequency and robot behaviour patterns over time
B
AI
One clear attention instead of a wall of numbers — ranked by what actually needs you first.
- Horizon weighs yield, conductivity, colour and dead milk time together, not in isolation
- Attentions are ranked, so on a 300-cow herd you know who to walk to first
- The AOS-2, the A5 Next's new operating system, is built to keep sharpening its advice as more milkings and outcomes feed back in
C
Diagnostics
Two kinds of diagnostics running side by side: the cow's, and the robot's own.
- MQC monitors every quarter in real time for early udder health warning signs
- Optional MQC-C adds a daily automated cell-count style check
- Teat Detection System 2+ flags failed milkings before they become a pattern
- The robot increasingly diagnoses and logs its own faults for remote and on-field support by a Lely service technician
Udder health, in real time
How mastitis actually gets picked up.
Five steps happen automatically, every single milking — no waiting on a monthly herd test.
The Astronaut pulsates and monitors each of the four quarters individually rather than treating the udder as one combined stream — so a problem in one quarter doesn't get diluted, or missed, by the other three.
Built into the robot arm right next to the udder, the Milk Quality Control sensor tracks colour, conductivity, milk speed, dead milk time and temperature for every quarter, every milking.
The MQC-C runs an automated version of a Mastitis test on composite milk, giving a daily read on somatic cell count trends between your regular herd tests — not a replacement for lab testing, but a much tighter feedback loop.
A single reading means little on its own. Horizon compares today's numbers against that cow's usual pattern and the herd's, and only raises an attention when it's a genuine deviation — not every small fluctuation.
Open Horizon in the shed or on your phone up the back paddock, and see exactly who needs a look, drafted through the Grazeway to a treatment are if needed — instead of working it out from a bulk vat result three weeks later.
Learn more
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Next step
Talk to your local Lely Center.
Every grazing platform is laid out differently. The best next step is a walk-through with a local Lely Center specialist, who can look at your shed, your rotation and your herd, and tell you exactly what the A5 Next would look like on your farm.
Reach out to us on 03 9394 1090 or use the form to contact your local Lely Center.
Brochure download
Take the next step in efficiency
The future of Australian dairying is here. Download our brochure and find out how Lely's automatic milking systems can work with your pasture-based operation.
Automatic milking with Lely Astronaut
Explore the possibilities of automatic milking and our local services.Lely Automatic milking robot - Lely Astronaut A5 Next
Explore Lely's next generation of milking robotGrazing Brochure
Explore how grazing and robotic milking work together.
Related solutions
Astronaut works well with
The Lely Astronaut robotic milking system is designed with a dedicated focus on optimum well‑being for both you and your herd. With this in mind, we offer a range of related products to complete your automated milking setup.
