Grants and Contributions

The effects of long duration spaceflight on human wayfinding: the behavioural and neural mechanisms (Wayfinding)
In space, without the cues provided by Earth's gravity, astronauts' bodies and brains adapt to various changes. One of those changes affects the astronauts' wayfinding skills, which can affect their performance during their first two to three weeks on the ISS, and may affect spatial orientation while performing complex tasks, like robotics.
The study will look at the impact of a long period in a microgravity environment on the behavioural and neurological mechanisms of wayfinding in astronauts. It will also explore how long the astronauts' cognitive and neurological changes would persist following their return on Earth.

Immuno Profile will:
• monitor the number of white blood cells throughout a space mission
• measure levels of immune related proteins carried by the blood
• generate a profile of the human immune system over a six-month flight

¿ Impacts on Earth
Immuno Profile's results will provide insights into stress-related and age-associated immune dysfunction on Earth. As we age, our immune systems typically decline. The study could identify similarities between aging population's immune functions and those of astronauts in space.

The study could also give researchers more information about the mechanisms of virus reactivation. We all carry dormant, controlled viruses within our bodies. But a period of immune deficiency could provide some viruses, like the one that causes chickenpox in children or shingles in adults, with the opportunity to reactivate and cause further infection.

The purpose of this grant is to provide support to a Canadian user of the ASTROSAT satellite. This project is based on the observations of active galacic nuclei with the objective of better understanding the connection between accretion disc and corona of Seyfert galaxies.

EMCCD (electron multiplying charge-coupled device) detectors are highly sensitive cameras that take images in low-light conditions using photon signals. This technology extends the boundaries of what is observable. Canadian EMCCD technology is recognized internationally for its unparalleled imaging sensitivity. The main space applications for this technology are astronomy and the detection of space debris. A potential terrestrial application is biomedical imaging. The purpose of the Nüvü Caméras project is to improve the newest large-format EMCCD, which has a larger field of view (the area covered by an image), primarily by increasing the new EMCCD's frame rate.

The proposed project is to design, develop and integrate advanced machine learning and data analytics methodologies to automatically examine time series of Two-Line Elements (TLE) of space objects in SSN (Space Surveillance Network) catalog and detect novel/anomalous trends. A two-line element set (TLE) is a data format encoding a list of orbital elements of an Earth-orbiting object for a given point in time.

Furthermore, the advanced methodologies will identify the root cause of the detected anomalies as either invalid TLE (due to erroneous satellite tracking data) or out-of-character space object behaviour.

The proposed “TLE Trend Analytics” solution will redefine satellite monitoring and space intelligence through its automation and artificial intelligence capabilities, and will result in increased space situational awareness and increased reliability for the Canadian national defence.

Let's Talk Science will launch a project titled “Optimal Environmental Conditions for Life” to engage students and educators in space-related educational opportunities that showcase and celebrate David Saint-Jacques' mission to the International Space Station in 2018. It is a large-scale “citizen-science” action project designed for use in schools across Canada to gather data about environmental conditions for optimal health. This project will involve universities, colleges, teachers' associations, and departments of education. It will allow thousands of young Canadians to build critical skills and conduct research related to life on the International Space Station, with the aim of inspiring them to pursue an education in STEM disciplines.

The funded activities are part of a competition (Canadian Satellite Design Challenge-CSDC 4) in which teams of students from Canadian universities design, build and test CubSats with the goal of having one or several of those satellites be selected for a future space mission and be put into orbit.

The grant has been awarded to support the organization of two workshops which will enable students to develop skills the Canadian space sector needs.

Also the funding will support the student teams to participate in a final design review meeting, a critical phase of the any space project.

Vascular Aging
Building on previous work (Vascular, Vascular Echo), this experiment will study the roles of weightlessness, nutrition, physical activity and radiation on the cardiovascular system and the onset of insulin resistance on orbit. The study will contribute to the development of countermeasures to maintain astronaut health during long space flights and will help improve health and quality of life here on earth.

Astronauts are returning to Earth with a 35% reduction in elasticity, equivalent to more than 30-40 years of aging, in their carotid arteries. Inflight ultrasound imaging and blood sampling in baseline and during glucose tolerance testing will be conducted to monitor effects of hypogravity and increased radiation. The novel results that will come from this research can provide insight into mechanisms to protect vascular health in astronauts through appropriate exercise and, or nutritional modifications and give guidance to the population on Earth to adopt physically active lifestyles with appropriate nutrition that will enhance the quality of life as we age.

European Earth Watch Programme - Global Monitoring of Essential Climate Variables Element. The following contribution has been awarded under the European Space Agency Contribution Program pursuant the Cooperation agreement signed between the Government of Canada and the European Space Agency (ESA). The European Earth Watch Programme is an ESA optional program. The objective of the Global Monitoring of Essential Climate Variables Element program is to realize the full potential of the long-term global Earth Observation archives that ESA together with its Member states have established over the last thirty years, as a significant and timely contribution to the Essential Climate Variables (ECV) databases required by the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).