November 14, 2022 (Chalk River, Ontario) – Bubble Technology Industries (BTI) is pleased to announce that it is part of the team that has received a $43M contract from the Government of Canada to design and build Canada’s first lunar rover, which will carry multiple science payloads to the Moon as early as 2026. The team will be led by Canadensys Aerospace and includes a broad team of Canadian and US partners from industry and academia.

Initiated under the Canadian Space Agency’s Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP), the lunar rover will demonstrate key technologies and collect important scientific data to lay the foundation for future lunar exploration activities. BTI is responsible for one of the payloads in the form of the Lunar Hydrogen Autonomous Neutron Spectrometer (LHANS). LHANS is an advanced instrument designed to detect hydrogen—one of the best indicators of water ice on the Moon—as well as other key elements, like iron and calcium. The presence of water and other key elements on the Moon can make extended human stays on the Moon more feasible in the future.

Lianne Ing, Vice President at BTI, stated “BTI is excited to be part of this world-class team that will expand human knowledge of the Moon and lay the foundation for a new phase of lunar exploration. The work will leverage almost a decade of innovative research by our team at BTI and we look forward to contributing our expertise to this important mission.”

Links to the press release from the Government of Canada and the mission summary from the Canadian Space Agency are available online.

Image Credit: Canadensys