Grants and Contributions

McMaster University will develop the NEUDOSE CubeSat. It will test an instrument that may offer new ways to measure the amount of radiation to which astronauts could be exposed during spacewalks, as it poses serious risks to their health. This instrument has the potential to replace current dosimetry equipment on board the International Space Station. It's measurements will be used to identify high dose rate areas and incoming solar storms, and to improve radiation modelling tools in preparation for future deep-space missions.

NEUDOSE will be developed in collaboration with Ontario-based Mohawk College, as well as Bubble Technology Industries Inc. and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in the USA.

The ESSENCE mission will test a Canadian-developed wide-angle camera to observe snow and ice coverage in Northern Canada. The information collected through its images could help map the thawing of Arctic ice and permafrost and give a better picture of the impacts of climate change in the region. It will additionally test a solar energetic proton detector, provided by the University of Sydney, to collect data that will enable a better understanding of the effect of Solar Proton Events (SPEs). SPEs are the result of solar activity during which radioactive protons emitted by the Sun become highly energized. The level of radioactivity caused by such events can penetrate and cause damage to the structure and electronic components of spacecraft in their paths. Understanding these events and their effects could help improve the design of CubeSats so they are more resistant to radiation.

The CubeSat will be developed in collaboration with Canadensys Aerospace, ICT Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology and the University of Sydney in Australia.

ManitobaSAT-1 will study how space conditions affect the composition of asteroids and the Moon so that researchers on Earth can better understand those effects when studying meteorites. This mission will also help better understand the origins of asteroids when the data will be combines with the data from asteroid sample-return missions, such as the OSIRIS-Rex mission.

ManitobaSAT-1 will be developed in collaboration with the University of Winnipeg, York University, Interlake School Division, and Magellan Aerospace.

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.

Dalhousie University CubeSat (DUCS) will test a new CubeSat frame made out of lightweight metal which will provide better space navigation capabilities for future CubeSats. It will as well validate the use of onboard solar energy and battery storage technology to power a stabilization wheel that will better control the position of the satellite's instruments.

DUCS will be developed in collaboration with IMP Aerospace and Xeos Technologies, Inc.

Killick-1 will test an existing technology designed to monitor oceans (sea-ice detection and concentration estimation) and fit it on the smaller CubeSat frame, which could lead to cheaper solutions to monitor and collect data on our oceans.

Killick-1 will be developed in collaboration with Newfoundland-based C-Core and the University of Prince Edward Island.

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.