Ontario Tech and the next frontier in space health

Ontario Tech and the next frontier in space health

As the world watches NASA’s Artemis II mission unfold, Ontario Tech University expertise is quietly helping shape the technologies needed for future human exploration of the Moon and beyond.

Dr. Carolyn McGregor AM, Research Chair in Artificial Intelligence for Health and Wellness at Ontario Tech, has played a key role in advancing how astronauts are monitored and cared for on long‑duration space missions. Working with industry partner CGI, she was a co‑lead on one of five national teams awarded $2 million by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to develop a Connected Care Medical Module (C2M2). The prototype, named Harmony, is a medical ‘health pod’ designed to deliver autonomous, AI‑driven health care for longer‑duration lunar and exploration missions such as Artemis, where crews must operate far from immediate medical support on Earth.

In addition, Dr. McGregor, who is also Professor and Dean at Ontario Tech’s Faculty of Business and Information Technology, Director, Joint Research Centre in AI for Health and Wellness and two-time Canada Research Chair in Health Informatics, leads the CSA‑funded Space Health study on the International Space Station, where astronauts wear Canada’s Bio‑Monitor smart garments before, during and after flight. The health data is analyzed using an AI platform, also named Artemis, to monitor cardiovascular and physiological changes in space, and to improve health-care solutions on Earth, in settings ranging from hospitals to extreme environments.