Canada announces plans to land a rover on the moon

Science Minister Franois-Philippe Champagne says Canada plans to land a rover on the moon in the next five years.

The Canadian Space Agency says the unmanned robotic vehicle will aim to gather imagery and measurements on the moon's cratered surface, showcasing technologies from Canadian companies in a polar region of the earth's only natural satellite.

Conducted in partnership with NASA, the mission hopes to have the rover make it through an entire lunar night, which lasts about two weeks and presents major technological challenges due to the extreme cold and dark.

Lisa Campbell, president of the space agency, says it will put out a request for proposals on design and development from two companies in the coming months.

Astronauts will fly around moon

Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques, decked out in his flight suit, was also present at the virtual announcement Wednesday, and will be among the candidates for the one Canadian spot on a four-person mission to travel around the moon in the next few years.

WATCH | Canadian astronaut going on lunar mission

Canadian astronaut going on lunar mission

4 years ago

Duration 4:10

The federal government says it has signed an agreement with the United States to send a Canadian astronaut around the moon in 2023 as part of a mission to establish a new international space station above the lunar surface to allow for exploration of the moon and future missions to Mars.

The announcement happened to come the same day the moon drifted through the Earth's shadow in the first total lunar eclipse since January 2019.

The federal government pledge falls under a $150-million lunar exploration program launched that year.

In December the government signed an agreement with the United States to send a Canadian astronaut around the moon as part of a broader effort to establish a new space station above the lunar surface.

GM, Lockheed Martin aim to build moon buggy

Meanwhile, U.S. firms General Motors (GM) and Lockheed Martin Corp announced Wednesday that they will develop a vehicle to drive NASA astronauts around on the moon's surface, competing for a space project that could also
promote their brands on Earth.

NASA is expected to launch a competition to develop lunar vehicles in its Artemis moon landing program. The agency has outlined plans for a variety of lunar vehicles that can carry human explorers, haul commercial payloads or traverse remote regions of the moon on missions lasting as long as 100 days.