More than $1.7M in funding to support the Canadian space industry in its exploration of the lunar environment

2023-08-17

The Lunar Gateway will serve as a hub for scientific experimentation and technological innovation in space. By providing Canadarm3 to the Lunar Gateway, Canada will be able to utilize it to conduct fundamental space research and test innovative technologies.

Following a Request for Proposals in December 2022, AllSeeing Corp., MDA, the University of Alberta, Pelican MRI, Inc., the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and Lunar Medical were awarded more than $1.7M in funding.

• AllSeeing Corp. received $240,000 in funding for a concept study on the Diamond Experiment In the MagnetOSphere (DEIMOS), a novel quantum-enhanced diamond sensor to measure ambient magnetic resonance lines, plasma densities and temperatures. This technology has potential for supporting space exploration.
• MDA received a total of $497,385 in funding for two concept studies:

  1. $249,851 for a concept study on the Gateway Robotic Autonomous Analyser for Life Science (GRAALS) instrument that will leverage the ISS MicroPREP design to perform sample analysis to better understand the effects of deep-space environment cell and tissue biology.
  2. $247,534 for a concept study on the Lunar DUst Science and Technology for Environment Research (Lunar DUSTER) instrument that will increase our scientific understanding of how lunar dust will behave on and around the Lunar Gateway and provide a technology concept for removing lunar dust from surfaces of the Lunar Gateway itself.

• The University of Alberta received $250,000 in funding for a concept study on the Gateway Sweeping Energetic Particle Telescope (G-SWEPT) that will assess the dynamics of space radiation from Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events, assessing their generation mechanisms and related impacts for human and robotic space exploration.
• Pelican MRI, Inc. received $242,500 in funding for a concept study on the Wrist Magnetic Resonance Imager (MRI) for the Lunar Gateway that will simultaneously prove the MRI technology in a deep-space (radiation) environment and gather data about the effect of that environment on the astronauts who visit and use the Gateway.
• The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute received $249,879 in funding for a concept study on READY (REd blood cell Active DYnamics in space) that will develop and validate methods to test novel hypotheses on space hemolysis in the Lunar Gateway environment.
• Lunar Medical received $249,170 in funding for a concept study on a dynamic software system comprised of an integrated digital health platform and a digital twin. This technology is envisioned to fulfill a critical role in providing medical support for exploration-class missions.