While the Artemis 1 mission ended on Sunday with the capsule’s return to Earth Orionanother space mission flew to the Moon, carrying two new cutting-edge Canadian technologies.
While all eyes were on NASA’s mission success, a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX – Elon Musk’s space company – lifted Japanese company Ispace’s HAKUTO-R 1 mission into orbit.
With this mission, the small company aims to make the first private flight to the Moon a success. The capsule notably carries an astromobile vehicle developed by the United Arab Emirates and a robot from the Japanese Space Agency, as well as equipment developed in Canada.
Thus, the Canadensys company provided a 360-degree imaging system operating with several cameras and assisted by artificial intelligence which will be used in particular to follow the descents of the two exploration vehicles on the Moon.
For its part, Mission Control provided a flight computer equipped with artificial intelligence that will be used to classify the geological characteristics of the ground during the movement of exploration vehicles, a job that is normally carried out from the Earth.
At the same time, another company, NGC Aérospatiale Inc., will use images taken on the Moon to develop a new GPS-like positioning system for future missions.
All three of these projects have received funding from the federal government, which seeks to contribute to various return missions to the Moon. “These technologies will help build capabilities in Canada and reduce mission costs, while positioning our country as a partner of choice in future space initiatives,” the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology said in a statement. Industry, François-Philippe Champagne.
In order to carry as much equipment as possible, the Japanese mission has only a limited amount of fuel, forcing it to adopt an economical trajectory to the Moon. The mission will therefore not reach our satellite until next April.
The successful Artemis test
In the meantime, Canada welcomed the success of the Artemis 1 mission, which sent an unmanned capsule into orbit around the Moon and back to Earth, paving the way for other exploration missions. from the satellite.
“In 2024, Canada will make history: an astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency will orbit the Moon as part of Artemis II, the first manned mission of the Artemis program,” recalled the President of the ‘Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Lisa Campbell.
The CSA is collaborating on the Artemis project by supplying Canadarm3, a robotic arm that will equip the future lunar Gateway station, which will be installed in orbit around the Moon.