Canada has a place in the Artemis 2 moon mission scheduled for November 2024, but it’s interesting how it got it. in a new article space.comPublished Saturday, he likened the purchase to “bringing a potato salad.” Supposedly the salad will be Canadarm3, a robotic arm that will serve the planned Gateway space station.

Ken Podwalski, senior representative of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) involved in the Artemis 2 and Gateway negotiations, explained the metaphor by likening Canada’s reputation for space robots to a dinner guest arriving with a delicious side dish:

“People look at Canada and they’re like, ‘Canada, you make the best potato salad, hands down. This is the best potato salad you’ll ever eat. Nobody does it like you do,” he said.

Canadarms have become key components of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the ISS. In particular, a robotic arm took part in an incredible emergency spacewalk in 2007 to repair a torn solar panel on the ISS.

In 2015, the future of cooperation with the ISS was discussed in Canada, and all agencies agreed that the construction of the new Canadarm3 is the main goal. Podwalsky once again likened the project to bringing the best potato salad to dinner.

“Everyone is waiting for Canada to bring potato salad,” he said. “The potato salad gets you to the door, no problem… and it won’t stop you from bringing anything else with you. You’re part of the party now. Now is a good time to remember other things.”