The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has awarded $2 million across four new contracts to map out how humans will survive on the Moon. Canadian Strategic Missions Corporation, SpaceDIRT, and Volta Space Technologies Inc. will spend the next 10 months studying lunar power systems and resource management.
Getting to the Moon and landing is a complex challenge, but maintaining a permanent presence there requires a completely new approach to survive. We cannot realistically launch an endless supply of water, fuel, and building materials nearly 400,000 kilometres from Earth. It’s just too expensive. Instead, we must learn to harvest what is already present on the lunar surface. This CSA initiative is in support of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), the practice of collecting and processing local materials to sustain a mission. Through the Lunar Surface Exploration Initiative, the CSA aims to identify how Canadian expertise can contribute to these long-term missions.
Canadian Strategic Missions Corporation secured two $500,000 contracts for its subsidiaries. One division will conduct a study on power generation and distribution on the Moon. The other division will investigate how to process regolith (the powdery soil that covers the Moon) to extract usable materials like oxygen and metals.
“We have been entrusted to help shape Canada’s role in powering and resourcing the Moon,” said Daniel Sax, CEO of Canadian Strategic Missions Corporation. “These awards represent a defining moment for CSMC and for Canada’s ability to develop strategic technologies with both space and terrestrial applications, including defence.”
Volta Space Technologies received a $500,000 contract for parallel architecture studies.
SpaceDIRT, formally known as Space Development In-Situ Resource Technologies Inc., also secured a $500,000 contract. The company partnered with the broader industrial sector to develop autonomous systems capable of drilling and moving production volumes of material.
“We can move faster, learn quicker, and deliver products that help people on Earth before ultimately making their impact in space,” said Shaun Riddell, CEO of SpaceDIRT.
These technologies serve a dual purpose for everyday Canadians. The extreme environment of the Moon features two-week-long nights of total darkness, intense radiation, and temperatures that swing from 120 degrees Celsius down to minus 200 degrees Celsius. Systems built to survive these harsh conditions translate directly to extreme environments back on Earth. Compact nuclear reactors designed for a lunar base could eventually replace diesel generators in remote northern communities or isolated military outposts. The exact same technologies used to map lunar minerals can also help locate critical deposits in the Canadian Arctic.
This funding is part of a shift to develop foundational technologies that Canada can provide as part of the greater Artemis program to build a permanent Moon base.