Within Ottawa’s technology sector, many companies are at the forefront of space exploration. At Mission Control Space Services, Tanya Harrison is hopeful the rover she is working on will one day roam the surface of the moon. “The rovers that we’re working on with our science instruments, part of it is looking for water, which is really important for using water on the moon for humans to survive,” says Harrison, Mission Control’s director of earth and space science. “But we can also use it to make rocket fuel in the future, so that we can use the moon as a launching point for future missions to Mars and beyond.” Mission Control is currently awaiting a successful launch of Artemis II, a space mission with the goal of eventually returning humans to the moon. “What we want next is to actually build permanent settlements,” says Ewan Reid, founder and CEO of Mission Control. “To have people living and working there, they need infrastructure, and they need to move things around and build things, and that’s the kind of things that our lunar utility vehicle are going to enable.” Artemis II will carry four astronauts, including Canadian Jeremy Hansen, around the moon. The launch was delayed Monday after a dress rehearsal revealed fuel leaks. NASA officials say March 6 is now the earliest launch date, but it could also be pushed back as far as April. MDA Space is another Ottawa-based space company waiting for liftoff. “Currently we’re developing Canadarm3, which is destined for the Lunar Gateway, which is an element of the broader Artemis mission,” says Holly Johnson, VP of robotics and space operations at MDA Space. Canadarm3 will eventually be responsible for developing and building the Lunar Gateway, a waypoint in space 400,000 kilometres from earth that will support human and robotic missions to the lunar surface. “We always say that’s the muscle, the large kind of robotic system that will support that gateway space station. Our Kanata group is responsible for delivering and developing the eyes and the vision system for that robotic system.” The means a successful Artemis II mission will be no small step for Ottawa’s space and technology economy. “It’s this next step of having this permanent settlement on the moon that is going to open up the opportunity for our company and for other Canadian companies to be part of what is ultimately going to be a lunar economy,” says Reid.
