Mission Control Space Services

Mission Control empowers explorers by innovating to make advanced software viable for use in space.

Surface SpacecraftSoftwareAI Helper

Created: 2023-03-11

Updated: 2025-09-06

Classification

Surface Spacecraft

Category

Software
AI Helper

Status

Concept

First launch

Not announced

Our Spacefarer platform allows distributed teams to remotely operate robots, payloads, and more.

Enabling autonomy: Spacefarer AI streamlines how AI can be deployed and trusted for spaceflight.

Beyond the Mission Paradigm: Federated Reconfigurable Infrastructure via Edge Devices in Space (FRIENDS)

Using federated machine learning to repurpose and reconfigure computer assets for sustainable lunar exploration. Federated learning is a decentralised learning strategy that could enable the different nodes in a network, such as lunar rovers or landers, to cooperate to learn to distinguish different lunar terrains.

News & Presentations:

• Enabling autonomous surface prospecting and mining with lunar rovers.

Lunar Utility Rover

A Canadian utility rover on the Moon

• Launch: No earlier than 2033
• Mission status: Concept development

Three companies get initial Lunar Utility Rover contracts, 2025-07-29.

• The three companies selected, Canadensys Aerospace, MDA Space and Mission Control will split the $14.6 million in funding allocated for the 18 month studies.
• While Canadensys and MDA Space would seem to be the frontrunners in this race based on their past experience and records, one should not count out Mission Control.
• The company has experience developing software for lunar missions as their press release states: “Mission Control has provided technology for rover missions and research and development projects to customers around the world including the CSA, NASA, the European Space Agency and is conducting BEACON, a joint lunar rover demonstration mission in partnership with Astrobotic Technologies Inc. on the lunar south pole later this year.”
• And a wildcard for Mission Control is Peter Visscher, Vice-President of Rovers. Prior to joining the company in October 2024 he had spent seven years at Canadensys developing rover technologies.

Status Comment

Status applies to the Lunar Utility Rover.