Canadian Space Agency Provides IDR 44.9 Billion in Funds to Four Companies

JAKARTA – From year to year, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) continues to support long-term development to welcome humans to the Moon, both in terms of technology and scientific studies.

This year, CSA is still showing its support by providing funding for the Lunar Surface Exploration Initiative (LSEI) through a limited tender. It is hoped that these funds will help the company develop concept studies for projects on the Moon.

From a number of companies that have submitted bids, CSA has selected six projects from four companies. All the projects they selected were projects that were entering the prototype or initial design stage.

The four companies selected were Canadensys, Canadian Space Mining Corporation (CSMC), Honeywell, and MDA. The four of them will receive a total of 2.9 million US dollars or around IDR 44.9 billion to develop five basic areas of lunar exploration.

Canadensys received funding of 449 thousand US dollars (IDR 6.9 billion) to build a prototype for plant growth and water disinfection assemblies and 500 thousand US dollars (IDR 7.7 billion) to build a prototype rover vehicle for terrestrial operations.

The next company to receive funding is CSMC. This company received funding of USD 499 (IDR 7.7 billion) to build a prototype of HYDRO+ technology which utilizes an integrated gas reduction method.

Furthermore, the Honeywell company received funding of 500 thousand US dollars (IDR 7.7 billion) to develop a prototype for the front of the terminal with low-power tracking. This project was built to strengthen long-range optical communications.

Finally, CSA provided funds to MDA amounting to 449 US dollars (IDR 7.6 billion) to develop and evaluate the driving algorithm. They also received funding of USD 500 (IDR 7.7 billion) to develop algorithms and management tools for autonomous power plants.