It's not the first thing that springs to mind when you think of stimulus spending, but the Harper government's plan to dig Canada out of the economic ditch includes cash for a niche moon-buggy industry.
Buried among the $47-billion stimulus package's tally of mundane infrastructure projects such as bridges and buildings is $110-million for the Canadian Space Agency.
The organization's trying to develop what it calls "signature technologies" to help Canada make its name in future extraterrestrial missions - just like the robotic Canadarm did in years past.
To this end, the space agency this summer called for bids to build Canada two lunar rovers. The prototypes could cost Ottawa $11-million apiece although this would include a duplicate buggy in each case for testing purposes.
Gilles Leclerc, director-general for space exploration at the Canadian Space Agency, said the federal cash is being used to build infrastructure for "going to the moon and Mars" and to help domestic companies that supply this technology.
"It's also positioning Canada and the space industry for the future. That's the stimulus."
The Lunar Exploration Light Rovers will be the size of a compact car and flexible enough to negotiate slopes, craters and harsh terrain. They will be electric vehicles, able to be controlled by remote control but with the option of carrying humans.
The Canadian Space Agency plans to acquire more mission know-how by testing the buggies, expected by 2012, in locales such as the Arctic that bear a resembles to Mars or the moon.
The rovers are not the only signature space tech project on tap. The agency is also shepherding development of a next-generation Canadarm as well as navigation systems and drills that could be used on rovers.
Why is Canada building lunar buggies when its closest space partner, the United States, has cancelled plans for an early human return to the moon?
Canadian Space Agency officials say U.S. goals of reaching Mars will require an American-led activity on the moon to prepare for a longer trip. Plus, they say, there are many other nations with their own plans that may want Canadian technology.