On Monday, a rocket will fly into orbit around the moon as the first step in humanity’s grand return to the lunar surface.
But it’s not just an exciting time for NASA. This time, the journey back to the Moon is an international collaboration, which will see Canadian technology and Canadian astronauts clearly marking lunar history.
Canada is heading to the moon and Monday is just the beginning.
In less than a decade, scientists hope to have developed a space station called the Lunar Gateway that will serve as a springboard for travel to Mars and beyond, and Canada is developing a rover to explore the surface of the Moon.
“The idea is to set up a base camp on the surface of the moon, with a space station in orbit that will orbit the moon,” University of Guelph physics researcher Orbax Thomas told CTV National News.
“This will allow scientists to do research and learn things from the Moon in the hope that as we continue to expand into the lower regions of the universe and move towards creating colonies in places like Mars, we will have the opportunity to learn how to do it while being relatively close to home.”
EXPLOITING
At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States, the mission, named Artemis I, will launch during a two-hour window on August 29, the first test of a series of space exploration systems in which NASA and its partners have been working. for years.
Using the most powerful rocket ever built by humans, the unmanned Orion spacecraft will be sent into space to orbit the Moon to collect data and test the spacecraft’s capabilities.
There will only be dummies inside Orion, but the spacecraft is designed to support humans, making this first test crucial for future missions.
Paul Delaney, a professor of physics and astronomy at York University, told CTV news on Saturday that these mannequins are “studded with radiation detectors, making sure that the deep space radiation exposure they will experience the astronauts are within the expected limits”.
After the 300-foot-plus spacecraft completes its 42-day mission in space, it will return to Earth, splashing into the ocean to test how future astronauts will get home.
If Artemis I is successful, it will soon be time for Artemis II, the first manned flight back to the Moon, which is when Canada’s role in lunar exploration becomes crucial.
A NEW CANADARM, A ROVER AND CANADIANS ON THE MOON
Artemis II, currently projected for 2024, will see a spacecraft carry four humans into orbit around the Moon for the first time since 1972.
One of these astronauts will be from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and will be the first non-American astronaut to fly to the Moon. It will also make Canada the second nation with an astronaut to travel around the Moon.
A Canadian astronaut is also guaranteed to be on another flight in the future to the Gateway, the eventual space station that will orbit the Moon.
The Gateway will also host one of Canada’s most important contributions to this stage of space exploration: the latest iteration of the iconic Canadarm.
In 1981, the first Canadarm made its space debut. These giant robotic arms were attached to the outside of the space shuttles and controlled by the shuttle astronauts, used to move objects in space that the astronauts otherwise could not.
The Earth-orbiting International Space Station (ISS) currently houses Canadarm 2, which is permanently mounted on the space station and can be controlled from Earth or by astronauts on the station.
The Canadarm 3 will actually be smaller and lighter than previous versions at 8.5 meters in length, but it is expected to have artificial intelligence, six 4k cameras and other cutting-edge technology.
“It’s the farthest we’ve ever had a Canadarm in space,” Orbax said, noting that while the ISS is about 400 kilometers straight above us, Gateway will be 400,000 kilometers from the land
“And not only will objects be moved, they will help the Orion shuttle dock with the Gateway space station itself, but it will actually be used to build the Gateway itself.”
The Canadarm 3’s ability to perform some unguided tasks will be very important to the operation of the Gateway once it is built. The space station will not always be manned, and there will be regular intervals when the Gateway will be completely out of communication with Earth crews as its orbit takes it to the far side of the Moon.
According to the CSA, Canadarm 3 will even be able to conduct science experiments on its own while orbiting the Moon.
The Canadarm has always been one of Canada’s best-known contributions to space technology; it was Canada’s agreement to contribute Canadarm 3 for Gateway that secured a spot for a Canadian astronaut on Artemis II.
Once the Gateway is built, scientists will be able to shuttle back and forth between the surface of the Moon and the Gateway Space Station orbiting the Moon.
And soon, we will leave new footprints on the lunar surface. As early as 2025, Artemis III may be carrying a crew to the Moon.
This mission aims to land the first woman on the moon and the first person of color.
“NASA is going to make history,” Randy Lycans, director general of NASA’s Enterprise Solutions, said at a news conference.
The return to the surface of the Moon will be followed by a first for Canada: a lunar rover.
In 2021, it was announced that a Canadian rover would land on the Moon within the next five years as part of planned lunar missions with NASA.
The CSA has already selected two Canadian companies, MDA and Canadensys, to design rover concepts.
The goal is to create a rover capable of surviving the lunar night for a planned two-week mission. A night on the Moon lasts 14 Earth days and the conditions are extremely cold and completely dark, which poses a challenge for the rovers.
The rover hopes to conduct a mission to the Moon’s south pole to test scientific instruments that help regulate functions such as mobility, navigation and thermal management, information that could help us on future trips to Mars.
The deployment of missions that begins Monday with Artemis I is led by NASA, but includes contributions not only from CSA, but from the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Although this next step in space exploration begins with a return to the Moon, the goal is to prepare us to investigate space even further, with a lunar outpost as a reference for future research and future space travel
“Space, unlike anything else, unifies us as a people,” Orbax said. “Whether you’re an academic, whether you’re a scientist, or whether you’re a citizen, everyone has looked up and looked at that wonder of ‘what’s going on up there in the universe above us?'”
With archives of Cristina Tenaglia