Canada’s first lunar rover points to the future of space travel
In a small office building near Toronto—next to a spa and a shawarma shop—Canada is preparing for its first mission to the Moon.
The building is home to Canadensys Aerospace, the company building Canada’s first-ever lunar rover. This will be the country’s first space mission led entirely by Canadians.
Inside, walls are covered with space posters and maps, while engineers in lab coats work on new machines.
Dr. Christian Sallaberger, the company’s president, says the goal is bigger than just visiting the Moon: “It’s about helping humanity move beyond Earth. Learning about the Moon is the first step.”
The Canadian rover is part of NASA’s Artemis program, which plans to set up a long-term human presence on the Moon. Canada’s rover will search for water, measure radiation, and test if it can survive the harsh lunar nights, which last about two Earth weeks.
This project will also showcase Canadian technology. Canada has a proud history in space: it was the third country to launch a satellite, created the Canadarm for the Space Shuttle and the ISS, and trained astronauts like Chris Hadfield and Jeremy Hansen—who will orbit the Moon on Artemis II next year.
The rover will weigh 35kg and is expected to launch no earlier than 2029. It will land in the Moon’s south pole, one of the toughest places to explore.
The rover doesn’t have a name yet—the Canadian Space Agency ran a public contest, and the winner will be announced later.
Canadensys is building different test versions of the Moon rover. The final rover, Mr. Sallaberger said, will be put together just before the launch.
Every part of the rover is tested to make sure it can handle the Moon’s extreme conditions.
One of the biggest problems is temperature. At night, the Moon can get as cold as –200°C (–328°F), and during the day it can reach 100°C (212°F).
“It’s not just about surviving the cold,” Mr. Sallaberger explained. “The real challenge is dealing with the swing between very cold and very hot.”
The wheels are another big challenge. The Moon’s surface is covered with a rough, sticky dust called regolith.
“On Earth, dirt has been worn down over time, so the grains are mostly round. But on the Moon, the grains are sharp and jagged,” he said.
“It’s like Velcro dirt—it clogs up the equipment.”
Another exciting part of the mission is the search for water. For years, people thought the Moon was completely dry, especially after the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s.
But in 2008, Dr. Gordon Osinski, the mission’s chief scientist, said scientists discovered signs of water when they re-examined samples from Apollo. Around the same time, spacecraft orbiting the Moon also detected water.
However, water hasn’t yet been confirmed directly on the surface, and many questions remain.
“Is it a small patch of ice? Is it as big as a hockey rink? Or is it more like tiny ice grains mixed with soil, like in the Arctic?” Dr. Osinski said.
Finding water would be a big step for future Moon missions. Water is one of the heaviest things to bring from Earth, so having some already on the Moon would help a lot.
Water can also be split into hydrogen and oxygen, and hydrogen can be used as rocket fuel. Dr. Osinski imagines a future where the Moon could act like a fuel station for spacecraft.
“That’s when it starts to sound like science fiction,” he said.
Canada has dreamed of building a vehicle for the Moon for many years. People were already talking about a Canadian spacecraft in the early 2000s, but real plans only came out in 2019.
Three years later, the Canadian company Canadensys won a C$4.7m ($3.4m; £2.5m) contract.
Canadensys, founded in 2013, has worked on many space projects for NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, and private clients. More than 20 of its instruments have already been used in Moon missions.
Still, sending something to the Moon is very hard. In March, a spacecraft from the US company Intuitive Machines fell over during landing and the mission failed. Three months later, Japan’s iSpace also lost contact with its lander.
“That’s just how space is,” said Mr. Sallaberger. “Things can go wrong, but we do our best to reduce the risks.”
Space exploration has often been about teamwork. Even rivals like the US and Russia have worked together on the International Space Station. But things may be changing. As building a permanent base on the Moon becomes more likely, countries are asking questions about who owns the Moon and its resources.
For example, in 2021 the US made a law to protect the Apollo landing sites, fearing that China might one day take the US flag or parts of the old landers.
Still, Mr. Osinski said the Artemis program gives hope. It is even more international than the space station, with over 50 countries—big and small—signing the Artemis Accords, a set of rules for peaceful and sustainable space exploration.
Space is also becoming easier to reach. Companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin now send paying passengers—including celebrities like Jeff Bezos and Katy Perry—on short trips into space.
But the Moon is the main prize. It could lead to many new opportunities.
Canadensys is already looking ahead to projects like lunar greenhouses to grow food. Those ideas are still far off, but the rover is just the beginning.
“If you can build something that survives on the Moon for a long time,” said Mr. Sallaberger, “it can probably survive anywhere else in the solar system.”
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