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In April, Canadians watched as Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen ventured the farthest any human has ever been as part of the Artemis II mission that took him and three other NASA astronauts around the moon.
It was billed as a crucial step to returning humans to the lunar surface, which NASA says will happen in 2028 with its Artemis IV mission.
But NASA’s Artemis program isn’t like the Apollo program of the 1960s and ’70s. This is an international effort; there are currently 68 countries that are signatories of the Artemis Accords. Not only that, but this won’t just be a brief visit: the plan is to go to the moon to stay.
For that, you need infrastructure: vehicles to help with construction and to ferry people around the surface; cameras for surveillance; and sources of power.
In these areas and more, Canada is stepping up to play an important role in the goal to return humans to the moon. In fact, Canadian tech is already there.
Moon Base
While a small lunar rover was cancelled by the Canadian Space Agency in March, there is another larger lunar utility vehicle that is being planned for no earlier than 2033. At the moment, three Canadian companies — MDA Space, the Canadensys Aerospace and Mission Control — are working on their designs, vying to be awarded the final contract.
But that may not be soon enough.
NASA has outlined its plans to build a base on the moon that will first be occupied by rovers and drones, but the longer-term goal is human habitation.
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman turned the Artemis program on its head earlier this year, cancelling the Lunar Gateway space station and instead announced what it’s calling Moon Base, which will be located near the lunar south pole. It’s intended to be a place to work and live.
Its construction will take place in three phases, beginning now. NASA is partnering with several commercial companies to provide lunar rovers and landers.
Christian Sallaberger, president and CEO of Canadensys, said the earlier timeline might mean a pivot in the lunar utility vehicle.
“We’re working with the CSA right now to look at how we can advance that program, [and] options to do a vehicle quicker and perhaps at a lower cost,” he said.
The current lunar utility vehicle designs would be the size of a pickup truck. But there is the option to provide a smaller one sooner, Sallaberger said.
Canada as a ‘powerhouse’
Canadensys already has experience when it comes to offering us a view of the moon.
“I think we’ve got 17 systems that we’ve designed and built that are on the moon right now that have gone with a bunch of international missions,” Sallaberger said.
They provided cameras for a few missions, including for Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, which touched down on the surface in March 2025.
Michele Faragalli, chief technology officer at Mission Control, which is also building a lunar utility vehicle, said Canada is uniquely poised to be a player in lunar operations.
“Canada has been part of NASA’s and the international space exploration effort for decades now. We’re talking about close to half a century,” he said. “And that has afforded Canada with a lot of both technology advancement, creating new companies in Canada, creating jobs, which is fantastic. We are really known around the world as a space robotics kind of powerhouse.”
‘A key opportunity’
A big issue for a lunar base to consider is power.
That’s where the Canadian Strategic Missions Corporation steps (CSMC) in.
Last year, the CSA awarded the company $1 million in funding to develop a low-enriched uranium nuclear reactor to be used on the moon.
“The Artemis architecture needs nuclear power. So, nuclear power is the only thing that can [be used] for a long-term sustained lunar operation,” said Daniel Sax, founder and CEO of CSMC.
But this type of reactor isn’t just being proposed for the moon: the technology could also be used here at home, particularly in remote communities.
Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist, says the first two Artemis missions have set the stage for the next moon landing, a moon base and eventually, human exploration of Mars, missions so challenging that only international co-operation makes them possible.
“If it’s small enough to fit on a lunar lander and has the technology to be remotely operated safely on the moon, then we can do that same thing in the Arctic,” Sax said.
There are more opportunities for Canadian technology on the moon, including mining, which is something else CSMC is exploring.
But there’s also robotics, something that MDA Space — creators of the Canadarm — does extremely well.
“Canada has a key opportunity now to strike while the iron is hot and contribute something, especially off the back of Jeremy’s incredible mission,” Sax said. “We’re in a unique position right now and let’s not squander that.”
