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WASHINGTON – The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) continues its efforts to develop lunar science payloads and a small rover that could fly to the moon on a NASA-sponsored landing mission.
The CSA announced on November 27 that it had awarded six contracts worth a total of C $ 2.9 million ($ 2.2 million) to five companies and universities for initial “phase 0” studies. of lunar scientific instruments. The instruments range from particle spectrometers and telescopes to an “agricultural feasibility” payload.
The contracts, whose individual values vary between $ 300,000 and $ 600,000, aim to study the feasibility of the proposed instruments and how they will support lunar science. The contracts are expected to last up to nine months.
The contracts are part of CSA’s Lunar Exploration Acceleration Program (LEAP), an initiative that the Canadian government unveiled in February 2019 just as it announced it would provide a robotic arm for the lunar gateway. led by NASA. The program, with a planned budget of $ 150 million over five years, aims to support a wide range of science and technology initiatives associated with lunar exploration.
In addition to the science grants, the CSA awarded contracts worth $ 3.3 million on October 29 to two companies, Canadensys Aerospace Corporation and NGC Aerospace Ltd., for the development of lunar technology payloads. Canadensys will develop a 360-degree camera to provide panoramic images of the lunar surface while NGC Aerospace will demonstrate a navigation system.
The CSA is also in the initial stages of a “microrover” that it plans to develop and fly in cooperation with NASA. The agency issued a letter of interest on October 23 announcing that it would officially issue a request for proposals for the rover by early 2021, awarding two contracts for Phase A feasibility studies this summer. The CSA will then select one for large-scale development.
The rover will have a mass of 30 kilograms and will carry two payloads, one provided by CSA and the other by NASA. “The idea is that we want this mission to demonstrate Canadian lunar mobility technology on the Moon and collect scientific data,” Erick Dupuis, director of space exploration development at CSA, said during a presentation. Canadian Space Summit online conference session on November 27. .
Dupuis said the ASC negotiated a route to the moon as part of a NASA Lunar Commercial Services (CLPS) landing mission. “In return for our launch, we are providing housing for an American instrument on our rover,” he said. He said the deal with NASA also includes the flight of additional Canadian lunar science payloads on CLPS missions, attached to the landers.
He did not disclose the estimated cost of the rover’s mission, but said it would launch no earlier than the end of 2024, and more likely 2025. The goal is for the rover to operate for at least one lunar day, and maybe a second if he can survive the lunar night for two weeks.
Canada is not alone in turning to other countries to fly lunar rovers. The United Arab Emirates announced in September that it plans to build a small rover, weighing only around 10 kilograms, carrying three scientific instruments. Officials said they would either look to partner with another space agency, or buy space on a commercial lunar lander, to transport their rover to the moon.
While the CSA rover project is linked to NASA’s CLPS program, Dupuis said the agency was open to other partnerships to fly its payloads to the moon. “We have a pre-negotiated deal with CLPS to get our payloads launched to the Moon, so it’s under our belt, but other opportunities could be there,” he said, like partnerships with the European Space Agency. “We are open to all mechanisms.”
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