Canadian Strategic Missions Corporation takes one small step to support life on the Moon

The Canadian Strategic Missions Corporation (CSMC) has won grant funding for two projects that could one day help humans live and operate on the Moon.

The Kitchener-Waterloo-based space and defence tech company has been awarded $1.2 million in federal funding to build manufacturing capacity for its nuclear microreactor, which is intended to power facilities both in the Arctic and on the Moon. The award follows CSMC winning the $400,000 top prize of the Canadian Space Agency’s Aqualunar Challenge last week for its lunar water purification technology.

“Water is … one of the key underpinnings of the future lunar economy. This is a key [capability] that provides Canada and its allies real strategic value.”

CSMC’s nuclear power work is just one part of Next Generation Manufacturing Canada’s (NGen) Advanced Manufacturing Technology Program, which revealed 14 projects worth nearly $63 million at the Hannover Messe conference in Germany on Monday. NGen is an industry-led, non-profit organization that leads Canada’s advanced manufacturing cluster. The 14 projects are supported by $25 million in federal funding, with industry partners providing the rest.

Other NGen-funded projects included an adaptable and AI-enabled satellite constellation production line led by Brampton’s MDA Space, as well as automated additive manufacturing (3D printing) in healthcare and foam-optimized additive manufacturing, both led by Toronto’s Mosaic Manufacturing.

For its part, CSMC is leading a $3-million manufacturing project, alongside partners Samuel Automation and Stern Laboratories, to transform its microreactor from prototype to deployable product. CSMC CEO Daniel Sax told BetaKit la s t year that he thinks CSMC can “deliver fleets of reactors” to power the Arctic in the early 2030s, as well as a reactor to the moon by the end of the decade, although the US recently moved the goalposts on that plan.

Founded in 2020 as the Canadian Space Mining Corporation, the company rebranded earlier this year to reflect its broader focus, particularly as a “dual-use” technology provider whose products can be practically applied in both space and on Earth, as well as by civilians and the military.

While the name change has freed CSMC from the expectations of a pure-play space company, it is still contributing to humanity’s future in the stars by winning the Aqualunar Challenge. The challenge sought a solution to purify contaminated water found on the Moon so that it can be used to drink, grow food, create oxygen, or even split into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel.

“Water is kind of one of the key underpinnings of the future lunar economy,” Sax told BetaKit in a phone call on Friday. “This is a key [capability] that provides Canada and its allies real strategic value.”

Sax said his team worked on purifying a “dirty lunar water ice” recipe provided by the Canadian Space Agency based on data from the Apollo missions and satellites. According to Sax, CSMC’s LunaPure solution uses solar energy to melt ice so contaminants can be removed before further cleaning and remineralization.

“We wanted to create a self-sustaining system where we don’t need to keep bringing inputs from Earth to make this system work.”

“We wanted to create a self-sustaining system where we don’t need to keep bringing inputs from Earth to make this system work,” Sax said. “We’re trying to use as much of the lunar environment [and resources] as possible.”

The $400,000 prize will help CSMC continue its development of LunaPure. While Sax wasn’t ready to share strategies yet, he said the company is planning to get the product onto the Moon.

The most likely window for that will be the Artemis IV mission, planned for 2028, when NASA will land astronauts on the Moon for the first time since 1972. The groundwork for this return was set by the recent Artemis II mission, which saw four astronauts, including Canadian Jeremy Hansen, fly around the moon. Sax said he was able to witness the Artemis II launch in person and was inspired by how the team of astronauts operated.

“I think it’s easy in the startup world to forget about the values [the astronauts] espouse and demonstrate,” Sax said. “The selflessness, the bravery, the love, and the importance of caring about each other on the team.”

“I’m very inspired, and I think these are things that we hope to learn from as a team and integrate more into our culture,” he added.

Feature image courtesy Canadian Strategic Missions Corporation.