Grants and Contributions

This project aims to address the rapid disappearance of grasslands, particularly due to woody plant encroachment (WPE), which has become the second most significant cause of grassland loss after land conversion to cropping. By leveraging advanced technology and diverse satellite imagery, the project seeks to develop methods to accurately estimate woody plant cover, detect WPE at an early stage, investigate driving factors, identify vulnerable regions, and assess the economic and environmental benefits of WPE detection on Canadian grasslands, ultimately providing a comprehensive understanding and methodologies for WPE detection and its impacts.

This project aims to create detailed 3D models of Canada's vast forests using satellite data and computer algorithms, improving the coverage of fine-detailed data across large areas. This innovative approach will aid in forest monitoring, wildfire mapping, and climate change impact assessment, offering a valuable tool accessible through an open data sharing portal for researchers and the public.

This project aims to leverage satellite Earth Observation data to advance forest carbon quantification, addressing the urgent need for accurate information on carbon sequestration and fostering expertise in climate change mitigation. By improving understanding of carbon dynamics, developing AI methods for carbon estimation, and assessing forest management impacts, the project aims to elevate the application readiness level of developed methods and contribute to informed decision-making, benefiting both the environment and Canadian communities while raising awareness of EO and climate science through outreach activities.

Based on recent advances in analytical optical spectroscopic techniques using laser ablation, a more compact and versatile instrument is presented. It will allow analysis without any sample preparation and with the analytical instrument at a distance from the sample. The instrument combines LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) and LAMIS (Laser Ablation Molecular Isotopic Spectrometry) technologies, and when used while exploring extraterrestrial environments it will provide isotopic analyses with a precision that can help our understanding of how these bodies came to be, their continuing dynamics, and even give clues to biologically related processes. The primary challenge of this AO 6.2 Space in R&D is to determine the best implementation of combining the LAMIS method with LIBS (and possibly Raman operation) to determine isotopic elemental composition and quantification for different targets. As a second challenge, the proposal includes the development of a robust system that can be applied in other fields such as nuclear science, geology and archeology among other emerging needs of the marketplace. Supporting this technology development and pioneering this field will place Canada in an excellent position for future space exploration missions to the moon, asteroids, comets, Mars as well as other astro-biologically targeted missions

The goal of this AO is to select an Initial Recipient who will further distribute funds to Ultimate Recipients, with the objective of building capacity in the Canadian biomedical sector, applied to space. The Initial Recipient will ensure that the Ultimate Recipients R&D projects contribute to the achievement of all the following objective(s) and priorities of the G&C Program defined below:
o To support the development of science and technology relevant to the priorities of the CSA.
o To support R&D activities towards eventually develop a technology from a terrestrial health technology organization, with strong potential for space application. This aligns with CSA priority for space research and development to advance sciences, technologies, applications and expertise.
o To generate tangible impact for remote communities through technologies purpose built for the remote context, with potential for near-term adoption in terrestrial markets which provides a sustainable path forward for innovations. This aligns with CSA goal to see that the Canadian space sector is developed and well-positioned.

The Vaporization, Distillation, & Oxidation Lunar Water Purification System is a reliable, efficient, and highly integrated process for turning lunar water ice into clean, drinkable water.

The LIWARS is a consumable-free and microorganism-free technology, converting lunar ice to clean drinking water while recovering over 90% of removed chemicals.

LunaPure is an entirely self-sustained system that relies on the controlled application of natural elements of the lunar environment to convert dirty lunar ice into drinkable water.

Lotic seeks to contribute its proprietary EC-AOP technology to the challenge, aiming to enhance the clarification of Lunar Water, leveraging our innovative solution for sustainable lunar exploration.

Lunarwell turns dirty lunar ice into clean water with the help of sunlight and the Moon's vacuum