Mr. Speaker, today, the Bank of Canada unveiled its new $5 and $10 bills. The $5 bill celebrates Canadian space robotics technology.
The bill depicts Canada's contribution to the International Space Station: the Canadarm2 robotic arm and Dextre, the two-armed robot.
Canadians are proud of the space technology we pioneered both at the National Research Council and in our space industry. Canada has developed many outstanding space technologies, including RADARSAT-1 launched in 1995, which made us the world leader in earth observation using radar. Today, after 18 years of operation, it appears that RADARSAT-1 may finally be calling it a day. This is extraordinary. It was designed for five years.
Please join me in paying tribute to Canada's space program, for it has surely made all of Canada proud since we became the third country in space way back in 1962.