Grants and Contributions

IDRSat aims to study how materials degrade in space by looking at how useful construction materials are affected by extreme temperatures, radiation, and space debris in low Earth orbit, and by studying material changes in colour, texture, brittleness, and electrical conductivity. The results of the study could lead to more cost-efficient solutions for the space sector.

The satellite will be completed in collaboration with Saskatchewan Polytechnic, University of Alberta, SED Systems and Innocorps Research Corporation.

Quantum sensors use the unique and often strange behavior of matter at very small distances to perform ultra-sensitive and robust measurements. The UdeSat project will conduct one of the first demonstrations of a quantum sensor in space. This quantum sensor will use nitrogen-vacancy defects in a tiny piece of diamond to measure the intensity and orientation of the magnetic field in space. Such measurements are useful to study the effect of solar storms on radio communication, GPS or electrical grids, or the flow of magma under Earth's crust, for instance. Quantum technologies, such as this magnetometer, will lead to smaller, more energy efficient, and more sensitive sensors for space application

The CubeSat will be developed in collaboration with the École nationale d'aéronautique in Quebec.

This project aims to study and understand the evolution of soil moisture in the root zone and the phenology of vegetation in agricultural areas by combining SAR data with a hydro-agricultural model (SWAT). The project also has a goal of HQP training in compact polarimetry, data assimilation and hydro-agronomic modeling.

The Experimental Albertan Satellite #2 (Ex-Alta 2) will expand an open-source platform to include accessible, open-source satellite software, electronic, and mechanical designs to increase Canadian and world access to space. The CubeSat will test an imaging instrument designed to collect information for predicting, tracking, and monitoring the impact of wildfire on vegetation and land. It will also fly a flux-gate magnometer, an instrument designed to monitor and better understand the effects of space weather on our communications systems.

The CubeSat will be developed in collaboration with Aurora College, Yukon College, the University of Calgary, the University of Saskatchewan, York University, the University of Oslo in Norway, von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics in Belgium and the University of Iowa in the USA.

Concordia's CHIRad-Sat will test an imaging instrument to collect data on dust measurements and will study the effect of climate change in the Kluane Lake region. The CubeSat will also evaluate the viability of a new electronic component that shows better resistance to the harsh conditions of space and that could improve the cost-effectiveness and performance of future CubeSat computers.

CHIRad-Sat will be developed in collaboration with the Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble (France), the University of Montreal and Let's Talk Science. Industrial participation such as Quebec-based MDA, MPB Communications, Ontarian-based Mission Control Space Services, Kalray S.A. (France), Spectrum Aerospace Group (Germany), will additionally collaborate with Concordia University.

AuroraSat will promote and share Indigenous culture across Canada through northern images, a project that will take northern art to space, where pictures of various pieces will be taken with Earth in the background. The CubeSat will also promote and share Indigenous culture across Canada through northern voices; engage amateur radio across the country with stories and messages in Indigenous languages. It will additionally be promoted through games by creating a globally interactive game for amateur radio operators. Special recordings played only in certain geographic zones will require global cooperation in order to decode a whole message. Messages and content will be developed on the subjects of northern Indigenous history and language.

The Aurora Research Institute of Aurora College will be collaborating with Yukon College, the University of Alberta, Nunavut Artic College, University of Alberta North and the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure to create their CubeSat.

The YukonSat will focus on promoting STEM and engage the community through 3 main initiatives. The first initiative is coding challenges open to Yukon youth and the public, using data gathered from YukonSat. For example, students could be challenged to create a collage of satellite images of a certain region of Earth. The second initiative is coding challenges to transmit and receive short voice recordings. Yukon schools, First Nations, communities, and other groups will have the opportunity to spread their messages to other parts of Canada and the world through a scavenger hunt-style challenge. The third initiative is data analysis and interpretation completed in Yukon College math and science courses. For example, students could learn about instrumentation, signal processing and data analysis methods while completing an activity to map earth's magnetic forces using GPS and magnetometer data from a satellite built by their peers.

YukonSat will be developed in collaboration with the University of Alberta, Aurora College and Natural Resources Canada.

CubeSat NB will provide new insights into the behaviour of Earth's upper atmosphere including the ionosphere. It will receive signals transmitted by global navigation satellite systems, such as GPS, and they travel through the ionosphere and are affected by it. Researchers will be able to use the data to further study how the ionosphere changes from place to place over time as well as how it responds to space weather. Significant space weather events can interfere with communications systems and electrical grids. CubeSat NB will additionally carry three cameras. Two cameras will allow the team to study the distribution of oxygen in the upper atmosphere, capturing images of the red and green light oxygen atoms given off during aurora and airglow events. The images will be used to examine the varying composition of the ionosphere and its response to solar storms. The third camera will be used to take images of Earth's surface for Earth science and meteorology applications. Knowledge of Earth's oceans is critical to understanding climate change.

The New Brunswick CubeSat will be jointly built with the University of Moncton and the New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) campus in Saint John.

Western University in partnership with Nunavut Arctic College's CubeSat will conduct a flight-test with a novel imaging system for engineering technology demonstration with the potential to provide virtual reality-ready images. This imaging system has future applications in Earth observation and space exploration. Testing will demonstrate imaging modes for different in-orbit functions. By taking CubeSat operations into the classroom, it will help enhance the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach program of the Western University's Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration (CPSX). This will include student from Southwestern Ontario schools and Nunavut Arctic College. Remote access to the CubeSat will facilitate live demonstrations of how to send commands and how to interpret data received. These activities will complement the existing classroom activities and build upon previous work developed at Western in enabling remote access to laboratory equipment.

The Western University and Nunavut Arctic College CubeSat Project will be developed in collaboration with Canadensys and MDA.

ORCA²Sat will develop and test new advancements in technology to better understand “dark energy”, and enigmatic form of energy making up 75% of the universe believed to cause the universe to expand at an accelerating rate. Operating with two payloads, this CubeSat will calibrate a number of both optical and radio observatories in an effort to reduce uncertainties associated with measurements of the universal expansion rate. These calibrated measurements may provide new insights into the nature of dark energy and the universal expansion rate.

ORCA²Sat is to be developed in collaboration with Simon Frasier University, the University of British Colombia, the Technical University of Lisbon in Portugal, Harvard University in the USA, the National Research Council, and Space Systems Loral based in the USA.