MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. received a contract from the Canadian Space Agency to continue work on the Canadian contribution to a NASA Mars mission, the company announced July 20.

MacDonald Dettwiler will continue development work on a meteorological information station for the Phoenix mission, which is slated for launch in 2007. The Canadian-built instruments are intended to provide information about the Martian climate and atmosphere.

The latest contract is valued at Cdn. $13.5 million ($11.1 million).