Canadian tech in space 

MDA, a global communications and information company from Richmond, has just been awarded four contracts worth 1.7 million from the Canadian Space Agency.

“These contracts allow MDA to assess robotic solutions and advance innovative sensor and guidance navigation and control technologies for future Canadian space exploration missions,” said Craig Thornton, MDA’s Vice President and General Manager of Robotics & Automation.

MDA will be responsible for:

• Equipping MDA’s Mars Exploration and Science Rover with autonomous capabilities.
• Creating instruments to analyze planetary rocks and soil (in partnership with INO and York University).
• A report testing the ability of robotic solutions to support an outpost that orbits the Moon.
• A new common robotics interface to spacecraft, payloads and tools.

If successful, MDA’s contracts could lead to human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit, emphasizing Canada as an enduring leader in robotic exploration and servicing technologies.