The Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI) will blend its aeronautics and astronautics programs at its 2026 conference in Winnipeg this October, breaking from its tradition of alternating the themes each year. While the event will run both tracks concurrently from Oct. 13 to 16 at the RBC Convention Centre, the commercial space agenda is set to focus heavily on lunar hardware, space domain awareness and Arctic defence.

Canadian companies and researchers will detail several active lunar programs during the opening technical sessions. The Canadian Space Agency will present an update on the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program, focusing on technology demonstration opportunities on the moon.

Commercial lunar infrastructure forms a major thread. Mission Control will outline its transition from onboard artificial intelligence to lunar surface logistics. Magellan Aerospace, the presenting sponsor, is set to brief the conference on MAPLE-Mini, a Canadian lunar impact probe designed to test electronic ruggedization.

Robotics for lunar extraction also draw focus. Polytechnique Montréal will share field validation data for an integrated robotic excavation system intended for lunar in-situ resource utilization — the extraction and processing of local materials on the moon.

The tracking of objects in orbit, known as space domain awareness, takes up significant space on the commercial and defence schedules. Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) holds a dedicated block with three sessions for its Redwing space domain awareness mission, covering formation flight experimentation and task scheduling.

The tracking requirements extend past Earth orbit. DRDC will also present on cis-lunar space — the region between Earth and the moon — with a focus on tracking the completed Artemis II mission. York University researchers will follow with work on self-supervised learning for classifying resident space objects.

The aerospace sector’s role in national security bridges the two conference tracks. University of Manitoba researcher Dr. Andrea Charron will deliver a keynote on aerospace technologies supporting Arctic sovereignty.

The program also features a dedicated defence procurement session. The schedule includes a Thursday briefing on Canadian defence procurement and funding opportunities, while researchers will cover commercializing secure artificial intelligence for satellite anomaly detection.

The conference integrates a talent pipeline for the commercial sector. The schedule includes a working-professional breakfast meant to connect students with the market, alongside a presentation from the Zenith Canada Pathways Foundation on the future of its fellowship program.

Marc Boucher is an entrepreneur, writer, editor, podcaster and publisher. He is the founder of SpaceQ Media. Marc has 30+ years working in various roles in media, space sector not-for-profits, and internet content development.

Marc started his first Internet creator content business in 1992 and hasn't looked back. When not working Marc loves to explore Canada, the world and document nature through his photography.

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