Canada’s first lunar rover looks for future space exploration

Outside an hour outside the toronto in a shopping plaza, a day spa and a shorma joint, a two -storey building seats with blue tinted windows depicting the summer sun.

It is a minor headquarters of the Canadensis Aerospace, where Canada is making its first visit to the Moon.

The Canadensis is developing a Canadian-made rover for the first time to discover the Earth’s only natural satellite, which will be in the first Canadian planetary exploration attempt.

The models, maps and outdoor space poster line the walls of the office, while engineers wearing anti-static coats work on unfamiliar looking machines.

Sending this rover to the moon is the company’s part of the “comprehensive strategy of really moving from the Earth”, Dr. Christian Halberger, Chairman and CEO of Canadensis, told the BBC.

Learning about the moon – which is seen to be a basis for further space exploration – is “logical first step”, he said.

“People get excited about science fiction films when people come out. You know, Star Wars or Star Trek. This is the real thing.”

Canadian vehicle is part of NASA’s Artemis program, aims to establish a permanent human appearance on the moon.

As part of that overroach target, the purpose of this rover is to find water and measure the level of radiation on the lunar surface in preparation for future manned missions, and to avoid many lunar nights (equal to about 14 days on Earth).

Rover will also demonstrate Canadian technology, construction on the history of Canada in space.

Canada was the third country launching a satellite, designed to have a Canaderm Robot Arms for Space Shuttle and International Space Station, and is known for astronauts such as Chris Headfield and Jeremy Hansen – of which will later revolve the moon on the Artemis II mission next year.

The 35 kg Rover is to be launched as part of the NASA initiative as soon as possible in 2029. It will land on the south polar region of the moon – one of the most inaccessible places on the lunar surface.

The vehicle has no name yet. The Canadian Space Agency held an online competition to select one, and is expected to announce the winner in the future.

Canadensys are currently working on several prototypes of the rover. Last vehicle, Mr. Holdberger said, will be gathered shortly before the launch.

Each component is tested to ensure that it can avoid the harsh conditions of the moon.

The temperature is one of the main obstacles. Chandra Nights -200C (-328F) can fall and grow up to a scorching day of 100C (212F).

“This is one of the biggest engineering challenges we have because it is also avoiding cold temperatures, but swinging between very cold and very hot,” he said.

Designing the wheels is another challenge, as the moon surface is covered with fragmented rock and a sticky layer of dust called resolith.

“Earth’s dirt, if you look at it subtle, has been closed. It is more or less in a round shape; but the lunar dirt soil on the moon is all right,” said Mr. Salberger.

“It is like Velcro dirt,” he said, given that “just gums up mechanism”.

The discovery of water on the lunar surface is particularly exciting, the moon was usually considered bone dry After Apollo missions in 1960 and 70sThe US Human Spaceflight Program led by NASA.

The notion changed in 2008, the chief scientist of the mission, Dr. Gordon Osinsky told the BBC, when researchers re -analyzed some Apollo mission samples and found water particles.

Around the same time, the space craft observing the moon discovered its appearance from the classroom.

It has not yet been verified on the ground and many questions remain, said the professor at Western University in London, Ontario.

“Is it like a patch of ice this table size? A hockey rink size? Most people think, such as in the Arctic, it is probably more like a grain of snow mixed with soil,” he said.

Water on the moon can be heavy implications for more sustainable exploration. He noted that one of the heaviest things required to transport them is often water, so the doors open due to possible supply.

Water molecules can also be broken to obtain hydrogen, which is used in rocket fuel. Mr. Osinsky described a future where the Moon could become a type of petrol station for the spacecraft.

“This is more in the scope of SCI-Fi,” he said.

Canada wants to manufacture a lunar surface vehicle for decades, even in the early 2000s with the Canadian -made spacecraft – but it was not until 2019 that concrete plans were announced.

Canadensys were awarded the contract C $ 4.7m ($ 3.4m; £ 2.5m) after three years.

Established in 2013, Canadensys has worked on various types of aerospace projects for commercial customers with organizations such as NASA and Canadian Space Agency.

More than 20 devices manufactured by the company have been used in a host of missions on the moon.

But there are further challenges – as it is not an easy achievement to land on the moon.

In March, a spacecraft was topped by a spacecraft by commercial American firm spontaneous machines, which ended the premature mission.

Three months later, the flexibility of the Japanese company Space lost the touch with the Earth during its landing, and eventually failed.

“This is the nature of the business that we are in,” said Mr. Holdberger. “Things go wrong, and we try to do the best we can reduce it.”

The space exploration has been a collaborative area over the years, with countries – even rivals, such as the United States and Russia – are working together at the International Space Station.

But it can change, Mr. Osinsky said. As the possibility of a permanent appearance on the moon becomes more realistic, comprehensive geo -political questions have started moving around the ownership of the satellite.

“There is more thing that owns the moon and space resources,” said Mr. Osinsky.

He said that in 2021, the US passed a law to protect the Apollo Moon Landing Site “because he was worried that China could simply go and hold the American flag, or take a piece of Apollo lander”, he said.

But he had some encouraging words about the Artemis missions, which are “more international than the space station”.

Artemis Accord, which is a set of ideals to promote durable and peaceful exploration of external space, is signed by more than 50 countries – including people like Uruguay, Estonia and Rwanda, who are not traditionally seen as major space race nations.

Space is also becoming more accessible. Private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin have played an important role and are able to take anyone with money and barely any training – such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Pop Star Katy Perry – in space for a few minutes.

But the Moon is a holy grave, because it opens all kinds of possibilities.

Mr. Saralburger stated that Canadensis is included in long -term projects, such as lunar greenhouse for food production.

They still remain several years in the future, but the rover is an early point.

“If you design something that can survive for a long time on the lunar surface, you are bulletproof elsewhere in the solar system.”