WASHINGTON — The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) kicked off a space robot design contest Oct. 23 for Canadian middle school and high school students.

Working with an adult mentor, the students will develop blue prints and business plans for a new generation of space robot to follow in the footsteps of Canadarm2, a giant Canadian-built robot arm helping with assembly of the international space station.

Engineers at CSA, York University, and MD Robotics of Ontario will review the student submissions. The winners of the Next Generation Space Robot Design Challenge will be invited in February to visit CSA in Quebec to participate in a full day of simulation training on the Canadarm.