Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced a $43M contract to Canadensys Aerospace Corporation (Canadensys), from Bolton, Ontario, and its industrial and academic partners to build the first Canadian lunar rover. Thanks to a close and ongoing collaboration between the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and NASA, the Canadian lunar rover will fly as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative and would land in the south polar region of the Moon as early as 2026.
For the first time in history, a Canadian rover will be sent to the Moon and will help in the international search for water ice in the lunar soil, a key component for the future of human space exploration. This rover is the outcome of decades of building and refining Canadian expertise in rover technology. It will inspire an entire generation to set their sights on distant destinations in our solar system like Mars.
The rover will carry six scientific payloads (five Canadian and one American). It will perform meaningful science and demonstrate key technologies that will lay an important foundation for subsequent Canadian lunar exploration. With this contract, Canadensys will continue to innovate in areas of technological strengths for Canada, like robotics, advanced vision systems and science instruments.
