Canadian Contribution to Space Exploration
- Paper number
IAC-07-A3.I.A.10
- Author
Dr. Jean-Claude Piedboeuf, Canadian Space Agency, Canada
- Coauthor
Mr. Graham Gibbs, Canadian Embassy, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Alain Berinstain, Canadian Space Agency, Canada
- Coauthor
Mr. William Harvey, Canadian Space Agency, Canada
- Year
2007
- Abstract
Space Exploration has been the subject of renewed interest following the U.S. President's announcement in January 2004 for a US Vision for Space Exploration, the initiation of the ESA Aurora Program in 2001 and exploration initiatives launched by various countries. Starting in 2006 a series of meetings between fourteen space agencies took place to define a framework for a global exploration strategy and to discuss a potential coordination mechanism and international reference architecture. Canada through the CSA has been an active contributor to these discussions. Canada has been and is still active in space exploration. Canada has been involved in space robotics for more than 25 years through the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) manipulators. Canada is now also involved in space exploration through NASA’s Phoenix Scout mission, the Mars Science Laboratory and ESA’s ExoMars mission. Technologies that are critical for space exploration like surface robotic mobility systems, active 3D vision, drilling, guidance for landing, autonomy and in space rendezvous and docking are being actively developed in Canada. In addition, the Canadian Analogue Network is supporting the demonstration of these technologies in an environment similar to Mars and Moon. In parallel to the international discussion, consultations were initiated within Canada to define what will be the Canadian role in this renewed effort for space exploration. Two internal working groups focused their efforts respectively on the science and technology contributions and Canadian astronaut access to space. Consultations were also held with the Canadian university, scientific, industry communities and government organizations. Through access to the ISS, Canada is considering further development and testing of candidate exploration technologies while encouraging Canadian scientists to conduct space exploration related investigations. The Canadian Space Strategy guides the potential Canadian contribution. The objective is to perform science driven-technology enabled human exploration of the solar system to expand our knowledge. Therefore, ultimately the Canadian effort in space exploration should contribute to realize Canadian science objectives, to develop and fly Canadian technologies, and have Canadian astronauts in space and on other planetary bodies. Canada aims to be the preferred supplier/partner for robotic systems, selected space exploration instrumentation and human-in-the-loop systems. Based on the national consultations, CSA has been developing a roadmap for its potential contribution to space exploration missions. This roadmap details the infrastructure contribution and discusses the science opportunities. The Earth and the ISS are used as analogues for Moon and Mars exploration while the Moon itself is a test bed for future human exploration of Mars. Our Moon focus will be robotic precursor missions and critical infrastructure contributions that will pave the way for a Canadian astronaut on the Moon. For Mars exploration, the near to medium term focus is science using robotics. A key principle is that these contributions should start early, be scalable and be transferable from one mission to the other. A first version of the Canadian Exploration Document is planned for the spring 2007 and will be the basis for national and international discussions. At the time of IAC07, we will be able to show a first good draft of the Canadian plan for space exploration and with a focus on a roadmap of potential contributions with a focus on Moon missions initially.
- Abstract document