Just Say No To Space

Ottawa has decided against supporting Canadian space companies' and the European Space Agency's (ESA) request to allow Canada's space industry to contribute in building the ExoMars rover. The decision was a big surprise to everybody, especially considering that the request was not contingent on any additional funding.

The ESA was keen on getting Canadian space companies on board because they are considered to be world leaders in robotics and this rover would be a far more advanced and sophisticated one than was sent to Mars by NASA.

"Industry Minister Maxime Bernier told the companies the government hadn't made up its mind about the future of Canada's space role and didn't want to go forward with the project."

Also of interest is the fact that the U.S. was promoting this deal and has also signed off on having Canadian companies design robotics components for its moon mission slated for 2020.

Now, with the government relaxing support for space agencies, a fear is growing that Canada will be not only be left out of space exploration, but the brain drain of talented designers and scientists that started with the cancellation of the Avro Arrow program (which saw vast numbers of Canadian engineering and technical specialists take leadership positions at NASA) will be exacerbated.

I couldn't be more disappointed with this announcement - c'mon Ottawa, get our butts into space!

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