In the early morning hours today (Sun), two Canadian technologies launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, onboard a Japanese space mission to the moon, which is set to land on the surface next spring.

Canadensys Aerospace Corporation is providing an AI-enabled 360-degree imaging system with multiple cameras designed to withstand the harsh lunar environment. Mission Control will demonstrate an artificial intelligence-integrated flight computer to classify types of geological features as a rover takes a cruise around the lunar surface. Traditionally, this analysis is performed on Earth.

A third company, NGC Aerospace, will receive lunar imagery from this mission to test their navigation system, similar to GPS technology. The Canadian Space Agency funded these projects.