The unique skill sets of Canada’s mining industry may someday help propel space exploration beyond the Earth’s moon. Recently, the Sudbury, Ontario-based Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) hosted a webinar to explain the opportunity and challenges in extracting resources on the moon.
“Mining and mineral resource exploration and taking advantage of resources on the moon is going to happen for sure in the very short term,” said Chamirai Nyabeze, Vice President of Business Development and Commercialization at CEMI.
Artemis Accords
In 2020, Canada signed the Artemis Accords, a set of principles for cooperation in deep space exploration, including In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) activities. As part of the Artemis II mission, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will join a crewed lunar fly-by mission in late 2024.
The following year, the Artemis III mission will land astronauts on the moon as part of an initial plan to eventually establish an Artemis Base Camp on the lunar surface. “ISRU is really expected to use local resources to extend those missions and it will also reduce the cost of the missions by reducing the need for resupply from Earth,” said Mathieu Giguère, Planning Analyst with the Canadian Space Agency.
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