Think back to the time you first learned that space exists, an entire universe outside of our home Earth. To the first time you heard that man stepped foot on the moon for the first time in 1969. Fast forward to today, the fascination and wonders of space never cease. There is so much yet to discover, and Canada will soon make its mark.
On Thursday, February 28 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that Canada, in conjunction with NASA, will assist in the development of the Lunar Gateway Project.
Led by NASA, the project is expected to return humans to the moon by 2022. It will be a space station equipped with living space, research labs and docking stations, that will be sent into orbit around the Earth’s moon. This will allow astronauts and scientists to travel to and from the moon regularly. Nearly 400,000 km away from our planet, the Moon represents a crucial stepping stone in humanity’s quest to travel onwards to Mars.
Canada’s Contribution
Over the next two decades, the Canadian Space Agency will invest at least $2.05 billion towards the Lunar Gateway Project. A major player in this project is a smart robotic system which includes a next-generation robotic arm (Canadarm3), specialized equipment and tools. Using cutting-edge software and advances in artificial intelligence, this highly-autonomous system will be able to:
- Maintain, repair and inspect the Gateway
- Capture visiting vehicles
- Relocate Gateway modules
- Help astronauts during spacewalks
- Enable science both in lunar orbit and on the surface of the Moon
The Gateway will not be crewed at all times, so the ability to perform these tasks without human intervention will be crucial. Furthermore, these functions are vital as communications delays due to its lunar orbit will prevent direct real-time control of the robotic system from Earth.
What role can Kidzwhiz play?
Kidzwhiz empowers children and youth to become technology leaders in our world. Our robotics and coding programs will spark your child’s interest and give them enough knowledge to begin a journey towards technology innovation like the Canadarm3. It’s more than just putting together LEGO bricks, its about providing the building blocks of which great ideas are built upon.
ROBOTICS COURSES
Students taking robotics courses will grasp concepts on building structures, sensors, and gearing. They will also be able to construct science exploration robots, satellites, and flood gates.
In LEGO WeDo, (ages 6-8) there are space projects (example above) where students can build, launch, & land a spaceship using drag and drop code!
LEGO Mindstorms EV3 (ages 9+) takes it a step further with various projects such as the “Tank” which uses sensors similar to the Mars Rover and the “Explorer” which scans the areas for objects.
CODING COURSES
Our coding courses teach some of the industry standard programming languages that NASA uses!
For example, NASA uses Python (ages 9+) in its Integrated Planning System as a standard scripting language. Java (ages 12+) has also been used to develop NASA mission software, that has been used in various Space missions.
“Together, with our partners from around the world, we’ll continue to push the boundaries of human ambition and inspire generations of kids and adults to always aim higher and aspire to something greater.”
– Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Links:
https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars/lunar-outpost
https://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2019/02/28/canada-reaches-moon-and-beyond
http://asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronomy/moon-exploration/canada-role.asp
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