Global Exploration Roadmap's 4th edition: a collaborative vision for Moon and Mars exploration
The International Space Exploration Coordination Group, which counts the CSA as one of its 27 members, has released the fourth edition of the Global Exploration Roadmap (GER).
This edition of the GER:
- shares a common vision for space exploration through
- highlights the collaboration of its member agencies to expand human and robotic presence across the solar system
- focuses on exploring the Moon as a critical step toward human exploration of Mars, with scenarios that now include missions beyond the Moon
- underscores the common drivers for space exploration: expanding human presence in space, studying the origins of the solar system, and understanding our place in the universe
Space exploration responds to humanity's innate desire to explore the unknown, with the overarching aim of bringing benefits back to Earth. Since the last edition of the GER in , the Government of Canada has made significant investments to position the Canadian space sector at the forefront of the next phase of human space exploration, including:
- committing to contribute Canadarm3 to Gateway, the next major international collaboration in human space exploration
- development of a lunar science rover and concept development of a lunar utility rover
- multiple contracts to develop leading-edge space technologies
CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen is also slated to fly onboard the Artemis II mission, becoming the first Canadian to ever venture to the Moon.