We are part of something called the Artemis Accords, which is a political agreement among 66 countries for deep space. Canada is one of the first countries. We also hosted the second workshop on the Artemis Accords, and now 66 countries are planning for a permanent presence on the moon.
The moon is a challenging environment. There's a dust called regolith that gets in absolutely everything. It can be -200°C or 100°C. There's planning for the batteries and trying to survive a lunar night, which can be 14 days at -200°C. Canadians are pretty good at that, but the moon is a whole different story.
It's an unforgiving environment. There's also really rough terrain. We're constructing vehicles that can go down into canyons and not tip over. Then there is actually achieving a lunar landing. There have been some commercial entities that have tried, and some of them have crashed into the moon. Slowing down enough so that you can do a soft landing on the moon is very challenging.
Yes, Canada is very much part of that. We're sought after for our robotics. We've been investing for years in surface mobility, so we're ready for this now. We've engaged with three companies for the mission concept and five companies for the science we would do on the moon. NASA is very much looking for international partners, not only because they want it to be an international endeavour but also, quite frankly, for financial reasons. They need the contributions of other countries.