Simon Fraser University readying to rove the moon

Credit: Canadensys Aerospace Corp. A team of Simon Fraser researchers is preparing for blast off after being announced as a major partner in Canada's first moon rover mission. For the first time in history, a Canadian rover will explore the moon and help in the international search for water ice, a key component needed for the future of human space exploration. Simon Fraser University was named one of the mission's partners earlier this month when the Canadian Space Agency announced that Canadensys Aerospace Corporation has been selected to build the lunar rover. Stephen Braham, who leads SFU-s renowned PolyLAB for Advanced Collaborative Networking , says his team will be providing world-leading expertise for the mission's surface wireless network, communications via lunar orbit and direct communication to and from Earth. -We will be supporting the design of communications of the rover, including the network protocols used,- says Braham. -But our biggest interest for this mission is to understand how wireless networks behave on the moon, as we already know it has one of the most unique radio propagation environments in the solar system.