The mandate of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is "to promote the peaceful use and development of space, to advance the knowledge of space through science and to ensure that space science and technology provide social and economic benefits for Canadians."Footnote 1 Established in March 1989, with a status equivalent to that of a Department of the Government of Canada, the CSA is responsible for the coordination and implementation of space policies and programs, the application and diffusion of space technology, and the promotion of commercial exploitation of space.
The CSA Audit and Evaluation Directorate commissioned the services of Science-Metrix to undertake an Evaluation of CSA's Space Astronomy Missions (SAM) and Planetary Missions (PM) programs as per the Five-Year Departmental Evaluation Plan and in accordance with the 2016 Treasury Board of Canada's Policy on Results.Footnote 2 The evaluation was conducted during the 2017–2018 fiscal year, under the direction of the CSA's Audit and Evaluation Directorate (specifically, the CSA's Evaluation function) and covers the period from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2016.
