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AI-Assisted Autonomy and Safety Monitoring for Space Robotics

Safety & Security · Planning & Decision-making

What it collects

Operational data
Anonymized data
  • Mission parameters, arm joint states, proximity sensor readings, orbital mechanics data, and flight product definitions used by the AI to plan trajectories and assess safety. This data describes how the robotic system is configured and its operational environment — it is not about individual persons.
Run by
Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
Where
No fixed location
Kept
Not stated by the Helpful Places.
Shared with
Accountable organization
Your copy
You cannot see the data it holds about you. What you can do

What it is for

Safety & SecurityPlanning & Decision-making

This system provides AI-powered trajectory planning, flight product definition, and safety monitoring to support operations of the Canadarm3 robotic arm on the Lunar Gateway space station. It assists Canadian Space Agency engineers and mission operators in planning and overseeing robotic arm movements in space. Because the arm operates in a remote and hazardous environment, the AI helps ensure that planned manoeuvres are safe before they are executed by human operators.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

Operational data
Anonymized data
  • Mission parameters, arm joint states, proximity sensor readings, orbital mechanics data, and flight product definitions used by the AI to plan trajectories and assess safety. This data describes how the robotic system is configured and its operational environment — it is not about individual persons.

Processing

Optimization
  • Trajectory planning modules apply optimization algorithms to compute safe, collision-free arm movement paths that satisfy mission constraints such as reach, joint limits, and proximity to the spacecraft structure.
Anomaly Detection
  • Safety monitoring modules detect anomalous conditions in arm state, trajectory deviation, or environmental readings that depart from expected baselines during Canadarm3 operations.

What it does

Deciding (Analytical AI)
Human decides
  • Analytical modules predict, classify, and score trajectory safety and feasibility from mission parameters and sensor data, producing scores and flags that human mission operators review before authorising any robotic arm movement.

Outputs

A recommendation or prediction
Anonymized data
  • Planned trajectories and safety assessments presented to human mission operators as recommended flight products and go/no-go safety flags for Canadarm3 manoeuvres. Human operators make the final authorisation decision.
Operational data
Anonymized data
  • Flight product definitions and trajectory files produced by the AI and used by mission control systems to verify and execute Canadarm3 operations. These operational outputs record planned arm states, paths, and safety envelopes.

Run by

Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
  • The Canadian Space Agency is the federal department responsible for deploying and operating the Canadarm3 AI modules in support of Lunar Gateway space robotics missions.

Canadian Government AI Registry — Canadarm3 entry

Built by

MDA
  • MDA Inc. and its subsidiaries are the primary vendor that developed the AI modules for Canadarm3 trajectory planning, flight product definition, and safety monitoring.

Canadian Government AI Registry — Canadarm3 entry

Kept for

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Shared with

Available to the accountable organization
  • Trajectory plans, safety assessments, and flight product outputs are available to the Canadian Space Agency and mission operators for review and authorisation of Canadarm3 manoeuvres.
Not available to me
  • The detailed AI outputs — specific trajectory files, safety monitoring logs, and flight product definitions — are operational mission data not available to individual members of the public. Only authorised Canadian Space Agency personnel and mission partners have access.

Stored

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data
Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data
Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data
The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides
This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes
This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous
This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the Helpful Places, not the vendor.

Your rights

  • Right to Algorithmic TransparencyInformation about the Canadarm3 AI system is published in the Government of Canada's AI and Algorithmic Systems Registry. Members of the public and employees may consult the registry entry for a description of the system's purpose and operation. For further information, contact the Canadian Space Agency through official government channels.
  • Right to Be Informed of AI UseThe Canadian Space Agency has disclosed the existence and general nature of the Canadarm3 AI modules through the Government of Canada's public AI registry. Both employees involved in mission operations and the general public are listed as primary users of the broader Canadarm3 programme.

Risks and safeguards

  • Physical harmAn incorrect trajectory plan or failure to detect an unsafe condition could result in collision of the Canadarm3 arm with the Lunar Gateway structure, loss of the robotic system, or mission failure with potential risk to crew.Safeguard: AI outputs are advisory — human mission operators review and authorise all manoeuvres before execution. Safety monitoring modules run continuously and generate halt signals. The system was developed by specialist vendor MDA Inc. with space-grade engineering standards.
  • Loss of autonomyAs AI autonomy increases in future iterations, there is a risk that mission operators become overly reliant on AI recommendations, reducing meaningful human oversight of safety-critical decisions.Safeguard: Current deployment requires explicit human authorisation of all manoeuvres; AI outputs are labelled as advisory recommendations and flight product proposals, not commands. The Canadian Space Agency retains decision authority over all Canadarm3 operations.