As part of a partnership between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), a Canadian astronaut will be sent around the moon, NASA announced today. The two organizations have agreed to formally agree on the construction of a lunar space station called the Lunar Gateway. The gateway is just one part of NASA’s massive Artemis program, which focuses on landing a woman on the moon by 2024.
The Canadian astronaut will take part in NASA’s planned Artemis II mission, and the CSA will also take its seat after the future flight to the gateway is completed. By joining the Artemis II mission, Canada will become the second country to fly an astronaut around the moon, the CSA says. There are currently only four active astronauts in Canada, and CSAA has not announced who will participate in this partnership.
Artemis I is an uncreated test of NASA’s new rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) and its Orion capsule. Artemis II will be the first flight of the system with a board among people, and during its 10-day mission, the crew will test the spacecraft’s systems on a journey that will take them 4,600 miles away from the moon. Indeed a landing on the moon is planned for the next mission, Artemis III.
With the crew, the partnership signed today states that CSA will provide external robotics assistance for the gateway, including the construction of CanadaDerm 3, an autonomous robotics system with multiple weapons and detachable tools. CanadaDarm 3 will inspect and repair the outside of the gateway, capture visiting vehicles, and orbit the moon so the gateway modules will be replaced.
The construction and maintenance of the gateway is an important step in NASA’s plan to build a long-term foothills on the moon. The gateway is intended as a research station and for long missions to the moon and as a rest stop in deep space.
It remains to be seen whether NASA can achieve its ambitious goal of landing people on the moon in 2024. NASA has struggled with the budget issues of building the SLS and the component failure in the Orion capsule that it has to carry. Despite these concerns, NASA says it will still be able to launch the Artemis 1 mission in November 2021. Artemis II, with its new member of the Canadian crew, is scheduled for 2023.
