MDA Space, the Canadian company developing the Canadarm3 robotic system for NASA’s lunar Gateway, says the technology could be repurposed for other missions if the Gateway program is canceled as proposed in the White House’s 2026 budget, as reported by Space News.
Speaking during a May 8 earnings call, MDA Space CEO Mike Greenley emphasized that development of Canadarm3 is continuing as planned. The budget proposal is just the beginning of a lengthy appropriations process in Congress, which could extend well into 2025 or beyond.
“That means that largely 2025, for us, at the moment, is just get your work done, keep developing the program, keep advancing the robotic system and let that budget process continue in the background,” he said.
In June 2024, MDA Space received a C$1 billion ($715 million) contract from the Canadian Space Agency to complete Phase C and D development of Canadarm3.
The project is Canada’s flagship contribution to Gateway, a planned lunar space station under NASA’s Artemis program. In exchange, Canada secured seats on two Artemis missions, including Artemis 2, which will carry CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
MDA Space says less than C$900 million of that contract remains, and Canadarm3 work is part of a broader C$4.8 billion company backlog.
Should Congress ultimately cancel the Gateway, Greenley said the robotic system may still be deployed elsewhere.
“NASA has signaled its commitment to work with Artemis partners, which include the Canadian Space Agency, on expanding opportunities for meaningful collaboration on the moon and Mars and to repurpose components for use in other missions,” he said.
He added that leadership of space agencies involved in Artemis are “all in discussions about where can they use all these different elements to do good things on the moon and make sure that everyone’s contributions are recognized and useful.”
Beyond government-led efforts, Canadarm3 technology also has commercial potential. In 2023, MDA Space launched its Skymaker line of space robotics, which builds on Canadarm3 developments.
The product line includes robotic arms for Starlab Space’s proposed commercial station and a lunar rover being pitched by Lunar Outpost for NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services program.
Greenley said other commercial space station developers have also shown interest in Skymaker arms. “So there is strong opportunity for us to deploy Canadian robotics to the commercial space stations in low Earth orbit.”
Even with uncertainty around Gateway and parts of the Artemis campaign, Greenley said interest in lunar and Martian exploration remains strong.
“So the reconfiguration of budgets to focus on certain things like ensuring we get to the moon and ensuring there’s a follow-on effort to Mars, I think, are very positive for the opportunities that we continue to track in our pipeline.”