MDA Awarded $7.9 Million for Lunar Gateway Robotics Phase A Contracts

An artist’s concept of Canada’s smart robotic system, Canadarm3, located on the exterior of the Gateway, a small space station in orbit around the Moon. Credits: Canadian Space Agency, NASA.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has awarded MDA two contracts related to the NASA led Lunar Gateway project which is part of the greater Artemis moon program.

The contrast are a result of the Deep Space Exploration Robotics (DSXR) request for proposals the CSA had posted in April of this year.

The DSXR initiative includes two Gateway External Robotic Interfaces. They include an “exploration large arm” (XLA) and an “exploration dexterous arm” (XDA).

Preliminary concept of DSXR elements with interfaces
Preliminary concept of DSXR elements with interfaces. Credit: CSA.

The first contract is for the development of robotic interfaces for the “exploration large arm” and is valued at $3,292,136.66.

The second contract, also for the development of robotic interfaces, is for the “exploration dexterous arm” and is valued at $4,598,971.26.

The Phase A work builds on the heritage of robotics MDA developed for the Canadarm on the Space Shuttles, and the Canadarm2 and Dextre on the International Space Station.

The new Canadarm3 program will take robotic tools to another level, merging cutting edge robotic hardware with Artificial Intelligence software.

About Marc Boucher

Boucher is an entrepreneur, writer, editor & publisher. He is the founder of SpaceQ Media Inc. and CEO and co-founder of SpaceRef Interactive LLC. Boucher has 20+ years working in various roles in the space industry and a total of 30 years as a technology entrepreneur including creating Maple Square, Canada's first internet directory and search engine.

One comment

  1. disqus_qcaF5Szay6

    It is very exciting to see Canada’s role in this new space race. Hopefully we can contribute more to this program, both in terms of technology and science.

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