Grants and Contributions

The purpose of this contribution is to provide one additional year of support to the operations of the BRITE (BRight Target Explorer) nanosatellite launched in 2014. BRITE is a unique small space telescope, a Canadian innovation with international partners, to study the brighter stars in our galaxy.

This project consists in testing a new portable Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology in zero gravity aboard a jet aircraft flying parabolic trajectories. The experiment during the flight, and the associated ground development, will verify that the new MRI technology would provide useful muscle and bone images of astronauts during future spaceflight. Muscle and bone loss is one of the primary health risks of long-term astronaut space flight. An MRI in space will allow scientists to study countermeasures, like exercise and nutritional supplements intake, to reduce such loss. This MRI technology could also be used to increase the availability of MRI in health care on earth.

The project consists in using a small package of heritage and novel sensors to sample the stratospheric air from a balloon platform and make measurements of aerosol size and concentration. These aerosols, which typically form in the tropics from natural and anthropogenic sources such as volcanic eruptions, play an important role in climate change by scattering sunlight away from the Earth. These measurements will support the scientific record of such observations and be highly useful for validating remote sensing measurements from satellites and other scientific instruments used during stratospheric balloon flights.

This project aims at developing a novel technology targeting computing systems used on satellites and spacecraft, with the potential for substantially extending the device lifetime. This technology will be demonstrated with a nanosatellite mission, which will include novel microthruster (used for deorbiting) and plant growth experiments. Students involved in this program will have the opportunity of being exposed to advanced technologies for data handling systems of space missions, nanosat propulsion systems, and flight hardware development.

The project consists in the creation of a critical mass of engineers, scientists and students through the re-flight of an improved imaging O2 Fabry-Perot (F-P) spectrometer, which has been developed and used during a recent stratospheric balloon flight in Kiruna, Sweden. The project will provide the detailed adaptation and the certification of this F-P spectrometer for research on climate change. The team composed with engineers and scientists will work closely on mechanical, electronics and optical systems design to improve this spectrometer for better measurement performance.

This project is an expansion of an existing Industrial Research Chair (IRC) funded by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA). It consists in a unique partnership between the Canadian mining and space industries and the government. An overarching goal and long-term objective of this Chair is to develop state-of-the-art science instrumentation to enable science-based robotic exploration of the Solar System and to increase the rates of development and production in mines. This Chair will focus on the scientific study of large meteorite impact events and three interrelated exploration objectives: development of instrumentation; automated and autonomous data capture; and remote situational awareness.