Canadensys cameras and Mission Control Space Services image-processing software are headed for the moon along with a United Arab Emirates rover in a Japanese lander, carried up by a SpaceX rocket that launched Sunday. The Ispace Hakuto-R M1 mission is on a “low-energy” path, not due to land until late April. (The Logic)
Talking point: The Falcon 9 rocket went up as the uncrewed Artemis 1 craft was headed for a splashdown in the Pacific after a 25-day loop around the moon; that successful test run augurs well for the Artemis 2 mission in 2024, which is to include a Canadian astronaut in the crew making humans’ closest approach to the lunar surface since 1972. Also this week, NASA is launching an Earth-observation mission that includes a radar component from Communications & Power Industries Canada—a contribution the Canadian Space Agency calls “modest … but nevertheless crucial.”