(Edmonton) The Canadian lunar rover will help reveal the hidden side of our satellite.
The first lunar vehicle to be manufactured in Canada will allow the Canadian Space Agency to play a key role in space exploration. Its mission will be to look for the presence of ice under the surface of the Moon.
Although the Moon revolves around the Earth, it does not rotate on itself. This means that its face is permanently hidden from the rays of the sun… and from our eyes.
“It has always piqued our imagination: what is on the other side of the Moon? “Summarizes Gordon Osinski, the head of the Canadian mission.
The P teamr Osinski, in collaboration with other international partners, is preparing to send the 30 kg vehicle to the South Pole of the Moon in 2026 to search for ice a few meters below the lunar surface.
The ice discovery could serve as a springboard for further explorations of the solar system and even human missions, says Chris Herd, a member of the team and a professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta.
The pr Herd had participated in the rover’s mission to Mars. He explains that ice “can be mined and used as a resource to enable astronauts to survive.” It can be split into hydrogen and oxygen for fuel, which would avoid transporting these resources from Earth and save money.
“It reduces the cost of sending humans to the Moon. That’s the ultimate goal,” he says.
The pr Osinski points out that interest in lunar exploration has grown over the past five years. There are increasing plans to send astronauts, as in the Apollo missions of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, ARCHIVES SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The robotic rover will play an integral role in realizing this dream, he adds.
In November, the Canadian Space Agency gave responsibility for manufacturing this vehicle to an Ontario company, Canadensys. It will work with other partners to develop the scientific equipment that will be sent to the Moon.
Canadensys works with six Canadian universities, including the University of Sherbrooke, companies such as Montreal-based Maya HTT and Sherbrooke-based NGC Aerospace, and US and UK partners.
The rover will have to be able to withstand extreme temperature variations on the Earth satellite, from -200°C at night to 100°C during the day. It will also have to withstand the high radiation and transmit data over the months of its mission.
The vehicle will run on solar power seven days a week, 24 hours a day, but will need to be placed “on rest” every 14 days.
Scientists won’t just be looking for ice. They will analyze the composition of the lunar rocky soil and study the radiation on the lunar surface to find out how much radiation future astronauts will be exposed to.
“What the rover will do is in preparation for future human missions,” said Christian Sallaberger, CEO of the Canadensys Aerospace Corporation.
Canada will not be the first country to land on the far side of the Moon, it will be the first to explore the South Pole. Scientists believe they have discovered ice in the dark craters.
China had become the first country to send a rover, the Yutu-2, to the far side of the Earth satellite.
The pr Osinski wouldn’t be surprised if other countries beat Canada to the far side of the moon, but the mission remains “incredibly exciting.”
“I almost have to stop myself from pinching myself from time to time. This is what my work has been leading me to over the past decades. »
This article was produced with the financial support of the Facebook and The Canadian Press News Fellowships.