CSA rover (Canadian Space Agency Lunar Rover Mission, LRM), with NASA's LAFORGE thermal imaging radiometer¶
Blue Ghost Mission 4 · manifested · partner payload
Canada's first lunar rover: about 35 kg, built to drive into permanently shadowed regions for short visits and to survive lunar nights. It carries six instruments: stereo cameras, a neutron spectrometer (LHANS) for hydrogen, two imagers, a radiation micro-dosimeter, and NASA's LAFORGE, an APL-built multispectral thermal infrared imager made to measure temperatures as low as those in shadowed craters. CSA terminated the mission in its 2026-27 Departmental Plan (March 2026); Firefly's page still lists the rover.
PI: Rover mission science lead: Gordon Osinski (Western University). LAFORGE PI: Benjamin Greenhagen (APL).
Built by: Canadensys Aerospace (prime, Bolton, Ontario) for the Canadian Space Agency, with about 20-30 Canadian partners; science lead at Western University. NASA's LAFORGE radiometer: Johns Hopkins APL, with JPL (detectors) and the University of Oxford (filters). (partner agency)
| Technology | small polar rover with science instruments (mobility, night survival, hydrogen and thermal mapping); NASA contributes a thermal infrared radiometer |
| Moon Base need | #0804, #0301, DN-007 L, DN-003 L, DN-012 L (The study's reading; NASA ties the rover to no gap by ID. Driving into shadowed regions and surviving lunar nights is the subject of #0804 (mobility in extreme cold, PSR access) and #0301 (surviving long lunar shadow), both cited by the Users Guide under long-duration operations. Its neutron spectrometer looks for hydrogen (DN-007 L). LAFORGE's in situ thermal images of the landing site and nearby cold traps touch DN-003 L, which asks for time-resolved thermal imaging of South Pole sites (DN-003 L is framed as remote sensing, so the fit is partial). The micro-dosimeter touches DN-012 L. All of this lapses if the rover does not fly; CSA has ended it. A 2029 landing sits on the phase boundary; the study reads it as Phase 2.) |
| Route onto CLPS | partner; A CSA call, not a NASA one: CSA chose the Lunar Rover Mission under its Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP) and gave Canadensys a C$43 million contract on 14 November 2022, to fly on a NASA CLPS lander under a NASA-CSA agreement. NASA funds LAFORGE through SMD's Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program as a US contribution. NASA assigned the rover to Firefly's CS-6 order (Blue Ghost Mission 4, 29 July 2025); NASA's July 2025 release lists it among the delivery's 'two rovers and three scientific instruments', while the CS-6 page lists only four NASA science payloads. In March 2026 CSA terminated the mission in its 2026-27 Departmental Plan; Firefly and NASA had not said publicly how the rover's spot will be used.; 2022-11-14 (CSA contract; CLPS flight announced); 2025-07-29 (CS-6 award); terminated by CSA in March 2026 |
| Timeline | first funding 2019 (CSA LEAD rover studies); 2022-01-01 (NASA's LAFORGE task order); 2022-11-14 (CSA LEAP contract to Canadensys); first flight test not in public sources; selected 2022-11-14 (CSA contract and CLPS flight announced); 2025-07-29 (CS-6 award to Firefly); terminated by CSA in March 2026; launch no earlier than 2029 (Firefly), if it flies; landing 2029 (NASA, target for the mission) |
| On the Moon | not yet flown |
| FO | none |
Flights before the Moon¶
- Earth orbit or deep space: NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: the Diviner Lunar Radiometer (LAFORGE's technology predecessor, not LAFORGE), observations from 2009. The same microthermopile detector and filter technologies and calibration approach, used from lunar orbit to map the Moon's temperatures, including the polar cold traps. LAFORGE brings them to the surface with far smaller pixels. Not a flight of the rover or of LAFORGE.
"LAFORGE will use the same microthermopile and filter technologies and calibration approach successfully employed at the Moon by the LRO Diviner Lunar Radiometer."
— hou.usra.edu: 1490.pdf, LAFORGE paragraph"observations in 2009 through 2022 by the Diviner"
— Nagihara et al., LISTER Deployment on Blue Ghost Mission One to Mare Crisium of the Moon, 57th LP…
Heritage hardware¶
- design heritage (LAFORGE detectors and filters): JPL's newer, denser detector arrays were developed for its PREFIRE mission (launched 2024, per the abstract's plan), and Oxford's filters come from the Lunar Thermal Mapper on NASA's Lunar Trailblazer. LAFORGE was in Phase C in early 2025, with instrument delivery planned for summer 2025.
"JPL has developed and tested new, higher density arrays that will fly on JPL’s Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment (PREFIRE) mission in 2024."
— hou.usra.edu: 1490.pdf, LAFORGE paragraph"Oxford will provide the infrared filter based on its Lunar Thermal Mapper instrument on NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission"
— Johns Hopkins APL to Build Science Instrument for First Canadian Lunar Rover, APL news, 2 Dec 2022"LAFORGE is currently in Phase C and progressing towards Integration and Testing in Spring 2025 and instrument delivery in Summer 2025."
— hou.usra.edu: 1490.pdf, Current Status
- design heritage (Canadian rover prototypes; Canadensys flight cameras): Canada built a fleet of terrestrial rover prototypes and tested them on analogue terrain, and Canadensys worked on rover technology from 2017 or earlier. Canadensys cameras flew on ispace's Hakuto-R, IM-1, IM-2 and Blue Ghost Mission 1; that is flight heritage for its imaging, not for the rover. At cancellation the rover was in Phase C, nearing its critical design review.
"which have collectively built the fleet of terrestrial rover prototypes and extensively tested them under various conditions, including mission simulations"
— First Canadian rover to set wheels on the Moon - Canada.ca, Quick facts"In all of these cases, the Canadensys payloads and technologies appear to have functioned without issue."
— Firefly to Carry Canada's first lunar rover in 2029 - SpaceQ Media Inc., SpaceQ, Aug 2025"Upon cancellation, the rover was at Phase C of development and approaching critical design review later this year."
— Canada cancels its 1st moon rover: 'It's hopefully not a lost cause', Space.com, 25 Mar 2026
Funding before the lunar flight¶
- CSA Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP): C$43 million contract to Canadensys and partners to build the rover (November 2022). Canadian money; no USAspending record. Earlier CSA rover studies (LEAD, 2019) also went to Canadensys. (CSA LEAP; 2022-2026 (terminated)): amount not in public sources
"announced a $43M contract to Canadensys Aerospace Corporation (Canadensys)"
— First Canadian rover to set wheels on the Moon - Canada.ca, 14 Nov 2022"They also received previous awards to explore lunar rover technology"
— Firefly to Carry Canada's first lunar rover in 2029 - SpaceQ Media Inc., SpaceQ, Aug 2025 (2019 LEAD awards)
- NASA's LAFORGE radiometer: APL task order 80MSFC22F0041 (NASA Marshall, ARDES II; from January 2022 to September 2027; $5,406,128 obligated) and a JPL order 80NM0023F0026 (April 2023 to September 2025; $1,105,242). Linked by their descriptions, which name LAFORGE. Total $6,511,370 (USAspending aggregate). NASA kept adding money after CSA's cancellation (a change order on 12 May 2026 and funding on 15 July 2026). (SMD Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program (LAFORGE); 2022-2027): $6,511,370
"LUNAR ADVANCED FILTER OBSERVING RADIOMETER FOR GEOLOGIC EXPLORATION (LAFORGE) TASK ORDER UNDER AEROSPACE RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND ENGINEERING SUPPORT (ARDES) II 80MSFC20D0004."
— USAspending.gov, award 80MSFC22F0041, description; obligated 5406128.0; transactions 2026-05-12 (change order, 200000.0) and 2026-07-15 (303750.0)"LUNAR ADVANCED FILTER OBSERVING RADIOMETER FOR GEOLOGIC EXPLORATION (LAFORGE) (41-203562)"
— USAspending.gov, award LAFORGE, 80NM0023F0026 (California Institute of Technology); amount 1105242.0"National Aeronautics and Space Administration"
— USAspending.gov, awards 80MSFC22F0041, 80NM0023F0026, 2 awards, obligated 6511370.0
How it got onto CLPS¶
"LRM was selected through a CSA call that aims to develop lunar mobility systems technologies and science investigations on the lunar surface, and will be delivered by a NASA-provided Commercial Lunar Payloads Services (CLPS) lander."
— hou.usra.edu: 1490.pdf, Lunar Rover Mission paragraph"Thanks to a close and ongoing collaboration between the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and NASA, the Canadian lunar rover will fly as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative"
— First Canadian rover to set wheels on the Moon - Canada.ca, 14 Nov 2022"five Canadian payloads and a NASA radiometer flying under a NASA-CSA agreement"
— Canada cancels its 1st moon rover: 'It's hopefully not a lost cause', Space.com, 25 Mar 2026"The LAFORGE scientific instrument development and operations are funded by the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program."
— Johns Hopkins APL to Build Science Instrument for First Canadian Lunar Rover, APL news, 2 Dec 2022"the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is terminating work on the Lunar Rover Mission (LRM), as shown in their 2026-27 Departmental Plan"
— Canadensys Aerospace Comments on Canadian Government Termination of LRM Program, Canadensys statement, 2026"(Firefly and NASA have not publicly stated yet how the rover's expected spot on the lander will be reallocated.)"
— Canada cancels its 1st moon rover: 'It's hopefully not a lost cause', Space.com, 25 Mar 2026
On the Moon¶
CSA ended the project: its page now reads 'Project ended' and speaks of the rover in the past tense. Firefly's mission page, fetched 4 October 2026, still lists the CSA rover; no source says what replaces it or whether LAFORGE will fly another way, though NASA added LAFORGE money in May and July 2026. The record stays 'manifested' because no NASA or Firefly source removes it.
"The Canadian rover was set to land on the south pole of the Moon, with a suite of scientific payloads."
— First Canadian rover to explore the Moon"CSA (Canadian Space Agency) Rover is designed to traverse the surface of the Moon"
— Blue Ghost + Elytra: Lunar South Pole - Firefly Aerospace, CSA Rover paragraph (fetched 4 Oct 2026)
FO's role¶
Grade: none. No FO project, report or page names the CSA rover, Canadensys, LAFORGE, its APL team, or Bubble Technology Industries. The study's earlier traceback grade (none found) stands. FO is a NASA program, and the rover is a CSA-funded mission.
"International partner payload. Nothing in the FO sources."
— earlier finding of this study (not a public source)
Who built it¶
"Lead development organization: CSA."
— NASA Selects Firefly for New Artemis Science, Tech Delivery to Moon - NASA"announced a $43M contract to Canadensys Aerospace Corporation (Canadensys), from Bolton, Ontario, and its industrial and academic partners to build the first Canadian lunar rover"
— First Canadian rover to set wheels on the Moon - Canada.ca, CSA news release, 14 Nov 2022"The scientific lead on the CSA project will be planetary geologist Gordon “Oz” Osinski of Western University."
— Firefly to Carry Canada's first lunar rover in 2029 - SpaceQ Media Inc., SpaceQ, Aug 2025"the LAFORGE thermal infrared imager (APL), which is a US contribution funded by NASA"
— hou.usra.edu: 1490.pdf, LPSC 2025 abstract 1490 (Greenhagen et al., APL)"Built by APL in collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California and the University of Oxford"
— Johns Hopkins APL to Build Science Instrument for First Canadian Lunar Rover, APL news, 2 Dec 2022
Moon Base need¶
"The rover will have the ability to drive and operate through lunar polar regions that never receive direct sunlight. It is designed to survive the long lunar nights"
— First Canadian rover to set wheels on the Moon - Canada.ca, Quick facts"presents several technology challenges. Extreme cold temperature robotic and"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: ESDMD #0804: Robotic and Mobility Systems in Extreme Cold Environments on the Lunar Surface, Description"Capture multispectral thermal imagery to determine surface temperature profiles of lunar"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: DN-003 L: High-resolution, time-resolved thermal mapping of lunar south pole exploration regions and sites, Description"Map and characterize nearby cold traps"
— hou.usra.edu: 1490.pdf, LAFORGE science objective 2"It will also improve our understanding of the environmental challenges that await future astronauts and their life support systems."
— NASA Selects Firefly for New Artemis Science, Tech Delivery to Moon - NASA
Open questions¶
- Is the CSA rover off Blue Ghost Mission 4? CSA ended the project in March 2026; NASA and Firefly have not said what fills its place (Firefly's page still lists it on 4 Oct 2026). The manifest should be checked.
- Will NASA fly LAFORGE some other way? NASA kept funding it into July 2026; no plan is public.
- How much NASA and Canadensys co-invested in the rover (Canadensys mentions 'significant co-investment' by itself and NASA): not in public sources.
- Was the rover or any of its instruments ever flight-tested before cancellation? Only ground and analogue tests are in public sources.