Grants and Contributions

Earth Observation Envelope Program (EOEP). 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. The Program EOEP is an optional Program of the European Space Agency. The purpose of the EOEP program is to develop our knowledge of Earth and to monitor its environment. EOEP supports science oriented Earth Explorer Missions, early development phases of Earth Watch and operational user-driven Earth Observation missions, and exploitation of the data generated.

Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) Program. 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. The ARTES Program is an optional program of the European Space Agency. The ARTES Program activities are aimed at supporting the Research and Development (R&D) efforts of the European and Canadian industry in the area of Satellite Communications.

This project entitled "" NSERC/MDA Senior Industrial Research Chair in Synthetic Aperture Radar Technologies, Techniques and Applications "" has the following objective (s):

The Simon Fraser Chair is a partnership between the industry (MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd - MDA), the academia (Simon Fraser University) and the Government of Canada through the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) along with professor who holds the Research Chair.

The main goal addresses critical training and research needs in Earth imagery analysis using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technologies with a focus on scientific and operational applications.

The Chair will generate job-ready graduates through a work-integrated learning approach involving internships and contribute tangible outcomes that will support CSA's stated priorities and is anticipated to lead to a world-class Centre of Excellence in SAR.

This project entitled "" HTS Antenna Technology Second Generation "" has the following objective (s):

The proposed multi-feed per beam technology will represent a useful complement to the current single feed per beam Multi-beam antenna technology at MDA, as it offers a reduction of the number of antenna apertures by a factor of two. This results in significant antenna accommodation benefits by allowing more antennas to be installed on a given spacecraft. This new industrial capability will therefore result in significant antenna cost reduction as a result of the elimination of two of the four reflectors currently used in most multi-beam antennas. It will also be possible to use the freed up volume to add more revenue generating antennas, which will contribute to Iowering the cost to the operators and ultimately the cost per bit to the consumers. The proposed technology will also enable MDA to better respond to the national and international communications market needs by offering higher capacity systems through the use of V-band gateways.

This project entitled "" Skid Steer Optimization (SSO) "" will address gaps in two emerging markets related to planetary exploration: electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles. As a result, new Canadian industrial capabilities focusing on increasing efficiency in the use of skid steer autonomous and electric vehicles will be created. The advancement of this technology is well aligned with future space mission needs, and can present a cost-effective opportunity for Canadian participation on an international mission. Terrestrial applications of this technology, such as agriculture, mining and military, are anticipated to have high market potential, which will result in further innovation, economic growth and job creation. This project will also provide socio-economic return and growth in the Canadian space sector by training and creating employment opportunities for Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP).

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.

The Thirteenth Canada/Norway Student Sounding Rocket (CaNoRock-13) : is a collaboration between the Andøya Rocket Center and seven Canadian and Norwegian Universities. The Canadian Space Agency's contribution will offer to ten Canadian students a hands-on training involving rocket activities, thus motivating them to pursue graduate study or a career in the aerospace industry. To date, eleven students sounding rocket campaigns have trained 101 Canadian undergraduate students. Canadian Alumni who participated in those campaigns show unprecedented high interest in the aerospace industry and graduate study, some having been employed by companies in the space industry.

This project aims to develop a methodology for the generation of ice thickness and bathymetry products of shallow lakes using RADARSAT-2 interferometry (InSAR).

The purpose of this project is to Investigate the use of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) for Quantifying Estimates of Calving from Polar Glaciers in Canada's Arctic.

The objective of the project is to develop an understanding of the coupling mechanism between glacier ice loss and slope displacement using interferometric analysis of RADARSAT-2 data.