Grants and Contributions

Space systems play an important and integral role in every facet of our daily lives, including national security and resource management. Therefore, it is critical to protect our valuable assets in space and build resiliency in space systems. In recent years, the growing number of space debris, more generally resident space objects (RSO), have become a significant concern worldwide.

The goal of the project is to extend the current nanosatellite star tracker (ST) capabilities for space-based space surveillance and demonstrate a novel approach to RSO identification and tracking. This project has real potential to substantially increase Canada's space surveillance capability.

One of the main goals in the field of planetary exploration is to document the geological record and processes that have shaped the surface of the terrestrial planets. Remote sensing measurements acquired by orbital spacecraft are the first component which can provide such information.

The main project objective is to study gossans, a sulphide-rich bedrock geological feature, in the Canadian Arctic as analogues to ancient hydrothermal systems on Mars, one of the key places to look for signs of life. The project aims at combining remote sensing measurements from various platforms and sample analysis to develop new scientific knowledge and provide students with hands-on experience in a space-like mission. The research will also have a broad impact in terrestrial geology as gossans are of high economic and environmental significance.

Astrobiology is focused on detecting
evidence of life beyond the Earth and so
answering the age old question ""Are we
alone in the Universe?"" Yet, to date there
is very limited data from other planets or
moons about the presence and distribution
of organic molecules.

The project aims at developing a
simplified, small scale science instrument
for the detection and characterization of
organic compounds for deployment as a
component of space exploration and
astrobiology missions such as Mars 2020.
Testing the instrument using material that
contains organics that are representative
of life (e.g. environmental samples) and
organics not representative of life (e.g.
meteorites) offers insight into the
presence and type of organic matter on
solar system bodies beyond the Earth.

To improve water resource management in
places that rely on snowmelt, there is a
need for high spatial resolution
observations that are accurate. Radar
observations of snow are sensitive to snow
water equivalent (SWE) but there is
uncertainty in how these observations
should be used to estimate accumulation.

The purpose of this study is to develop and
demonstrate improved methods to estimate
snow accumulation, or SWE, in a Canadian
prairie and alpine environment using
airborne radar remote sensing observations
combined with numerical models. Benefits
are that a feasible high resolution SWE
mapping mission concept can be developed
and demonstrated that can improve snowmelt
flood prediction and meltwater resource
management across many parts of Canada.

Xiphos Systems Corporation will develop and qualify the Q7AE, a new addition to its family of high-performance and low size, weight, and power (SWaP) COTS-based processors. The Q7AE (“Advanced Edition”) will be a key element of a new generation of satellites that enable low-cost space science, earth observation, space weather, synthetic aperture radar, IoT and communications missions for commercial, government, and space agency customers. This product is targeted at applications where strict adherence to radiation upset rate and availability targets must be met for demanding missions. The Q7AE will be distinguished as a processor optimized to provide high reliability and performance in harsh radiation environments. As a ready-made, flexible solution, this product will the reduce cost, risk and development time of demanding, long-duration, and high-LEO missions.

There is currently a strong, and growing, demand for technologies and products in autonomous robotic applications for many sectors, including space, to improve productivity, repeatability and safety while operating reliably in harsh environments. While Lumibird's Obscurant Penetrating LIDAR (OPAL) is being integrated in many projects (e.g. mining, airports and subsea inspection & mapping), the widespread adoption of LIDAR based vision systems is constrained by their overall envelope (mass, size, power) and cost.

The objective of this project is to design, develop and test a fully integrated prototype of the OPAL Nano LIDAR based vision system for autonomous robotic applications, specifically targeted at new-space lunar missions. This project aims to achieve a next-generation LIDAR system that would drastically reduce the system's mass, size and power consumption footprint. This new system will leverage aspects of both commercial and space designs, which in turn will reduce costs and generate sales in emerging automation markets.

The project will use satellite, model, and ground-based data to characterise the extent and variability of mineral dust aerosol (MDA) in the atmosphere above northern Canada, and identify the sources from which it is emitted at the surface. The impact of MDA on the radiation budget and clouds – both important components of the climate system – will be quantified, as will its contribution to air quality indicators. The project also involves validation of several Canadian-led/partnered satellite-based systems that measure aerosol and cloud properties.

Air pollution regulations have led to dramatic reductions in emissions of CO and NOx, but studies using atmospheric observations to quantify these reductions produce a wide range of emission estimates. The proposed project will use a multi-model and multi-sensor approach to quantify potential sources of discrepancies that contribute to uncertainty in the emission estimates. The project will focus on using space-based measurements to better quantify emissions of CO globally and of NOx in North America. Improved estimates of the emissions of CO and NOx are critical for assessing the effectiveness of air pollution regulations.

Despite the success of the Montreal Protocol in phasing out ozone depleting substances, lower stratospheric ozone continues to decrease. Currently it is not clear, if this ongoing decrease is related to so far unexplored chemical effects or to changes in the atmospheric circulation, the large-scale movement of air by which ozone is redistributed. The proposed project will use satellite measurements from OSIRIS and ACE-FTS in combination with simulations from the Canadian Earth system model to understand lower stratospheric ozone changes and driving forces. Based on the improved understanding, predictions of ozone recovery in the lower stratosphere will be produced.

Data from two Canadian space-based instruments will be utilized to investigate our changing atmosphere and to improve our ability to simulate these changes with atmospheric models. In one activity, we will focus on understanding how to best simulate the injection and dispersal of wildfire pollution in the atmosphere including its year-to-year variation. In a second activity, we will examine how different models describe greenhouse gases that are also air pollutants. For the third activity, we will assess the quality of space-based measurements of greenhouse gases and air pollutants and evaluate how well models simulate these important gases.