Ottawa backs quantum computing, Mars projects

LONGUEUIL, Que. — Money earmarked for space development in this year’s federal budget will go to two projects that could have lasting impacts on Earth and beyond, the federal government announced Thursday.

One of them involves a radar instrument that would be used to study the surface and subsurface of Mars.

The other looks at the applications of quantum technology in space and will be overseen by the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo.

That project involves quantum encryption, which uses highly advanced computing technology to create virtually unbreakable security codes.

In announcing how the $80.9 million would be spent over five years, Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains told staff at the Canadian Space Agency headquarters near Montreal that space innovation is a smart investment for Canada.

In addition to two new Canadian astronauts to be introduced in the coming months, Bains said a recently convened space advisory board is expected to report back this summer with a longterm plan for the sector, which employs about 10,000 people.

“We want to have a thoughtful, insightful, long-term plan when it comes to space,” Bains said.

The radar instrument, identified as a necessary tool by Canada’s space partners, would be developed for a future orbiter mission to the red planet and would help in developing a highresolution map of the surface as well as identifying water resources at shallow depths.

That geological data could provide invaluable information for future long-term space missions to Mars, but the tool could also have Earth applications.

Gilles Leclerc, director general of space exploration at the space agency, said the instrument is different from contributions such as an X-ray spectrometer on the Curiosity rover and a meteorological station on the Phoenix spacecraft that were both part of Marsbound missions “This time, it would be different for us because we’d be mapping the surface from orbit,” Leclerc said.

Leclerc said talks are ongoing with NASA to have an instrument ready for a launch by 2022.