NASA is leading an effort to establish the Gateway, a space station in lunar orbit. The Gateway is smaller than the international space station and is approximately one-fifth of the size of the International Space Station (ISS). This new outpost will be developed, serviced, and utilized in collaboration with international and commercial partners.
The Gateway will be:
- a science laboratory;
- a testbed for new technologies;
- a rendezvous location for exploration of the surface of the Moon;
- a mission control centre for operations on the Moon; and
- one day, a stepping stone for voyages to Mars.
When fully assembled, the Gateway will include modules for scientific research and living quarters for crews of four astronauts. They will be able to live and work on the Gateway for up to three months at a time, and occasionally travel to the lunar surface to conduct science and test new technologies. Eventually, these missions could last longer in order to prepare for the deeper-space missions of the future.
Unlike the ISS, the Gateway will not be crewed continuously, though it will be inhabited at least once a year. As an artificial intelligence-based robotic system, Canadarm3 will be able to tend to the Gateway when no humans are on board, including operating science experiments aboard the lunar outpost.
Canadarm3
Canadarm, Canadarm2, and Canadarm3 – A comparative table
| Canadarm The first Canadian robotic arm to go to space |
Canadarm2 Servicing the International Space Station since |
Canadarm3 An artificial intelligence-based robotic system designed for the Lunar Gateway |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Installed on each Space Shuttle and returned to Earth.
Now retired, the Canadarm is on display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario. |
Stays permanently in space on board the International Space Station. | Will stay permanently in space on board the Lunar Gateway. |
| Range of motion | Reach limited to length of arm. | Moves end-over-end to reach many parts of the International Space Station, where its anchoring “hand” plugs into a power, data, and video outlet.
Because it is mounted on the Mobile Base, the arm can travel the entire length of the Space Station. |
Will move end-over-end to reach many parts of the Lunar Gateway, where its anchoring “hand” will plug into a power, data, and video outlet.
The arm will be able to travel and bring tools to the entire length of the Lunar Gateway. |
| Fixed joint | Fixed to the shuttle by one end. | No fixed end. | No fixed end. |
| Degrees of freedom | Six degrees of freedom. Similar to a human arm:
|
Seven degrees of freedom. Very similar to a human arm:
|
Seven degrees of freedom. Very similar to a human arm:
|
| Joint rotation | Elbow rotation limited to 160 degrees. | Each of Canadarm2’s joints rotate 270 degrees in each direction, a total of 540 degrees.
This range of motion is greater than that of a human arm. |
Each joint will be able to rotate almost 360 degrees. |
| Senses | No sense of touch. |
|
|
| Length | 15 m | 17 m | 8.5 m |
| Mass | 410 kg | 1,497 kg | 715 kg (estimation) |
| Diameter | 33 cm (exterior diameter of composite boom) | 35 cm (exterior diameter of composite boom) | 23 cm (exterior diameter of composite boom) |
| Speed of operation |
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| Composition | 16 layers of high-modulus carbon fibre epoxy | 19 layers of high-strength carbon fibre thermoplastic | Carbon fibre composite. |
| Repairs | Repaired on Earth. | Designed to be repaired in space. Composed of removable sections that can be individually replaced in space. | Designed to self-detach sections that can be repaired inside the Lunar Gateway. |
| Control | Controlled by astronauts on the Space Shuttle. | Controlled from the ground or by astronauts on the International Space Station. | Primarily controlled autonomously. Can also be controlled from the ground or by astronauts on the Lunar Gateway. |
| Cameras | Two cameras:
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Four colour cameras:
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Six colour 4K cameras:
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https://asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/iss/canadarm2/canadarm-canadarm2-canadarm3-comparative-table.asp
