Grants and Contributions

Contribution as part of the Participant Funding Program to Mohawk Council of Akwesasne to assist in preparing for and engaging in Indigenous consultation activities and public participation opportunities associated with the assessment process for the Regional Assessment of the St. Lawrence River Area.

Contribution as part of the Indigenous Capacity Support Program to Kativik Environmental Advisory Committee to assist in improving assessments, policy engagement, assessment monitoring and follow-up activities.

Contribution as part of the Indigenous Capacity Support Program to Takla Nation to assist in improving assessments, policy engagement, assessment monitoring and follow-up activities.

Contribution as part of the Participant Funding Program to Cree Nation of Mistissini to assist in preparing for and engaging in Indigenous consultation activities and public participation opportunities associated with the assessment process for the Troilus Mining Project.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will observe the planetary nebula Tc 1, known for its abundance of fullerenes, a type of carbon molecule shaped like a soccer ball. These observations aim to understand the nebula’s unique composition and the role of fullerenes in space. The analysis will determine the types and amounts of elements and molecules in Tc 1. This will help in understanding how fullerenes form and survive in space. The results will provide insights into the lifecycle of stars and the physical and chemical processes in the universe, and the role of large carbonaceous molecules in the evolution of stars and planets.

This investigation will analyze the infrared spectra (JWST/NIRSpec and JWST/MIRI-MRS) of seven carbon-rich stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds that represent different stages in the evolution from red giants to planetary nebulae. Their spectra exhibit a variety of features from simple species (like acetylene, C2H2) to more complex chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This investigation will exploit the unprecedented combination of spectral resolution, wavelength coverage, and sensitivity offered by NIRSpec and the MRS to explore the chemistry of complex hydrocarbons as carbon stars evolve into planetary nebulae. The resulting spectra will sample the gas and dust at different stages of evolution as carbon-rich objects seed their host galaxies with fresh dust.

This project will support the 2016 ExoMars TGO/CaSSIS mission operations and science. Science investigations under the Impact Cratering and Composition & Photometry science theme groups are emphasized herein. Impact cratering has shaped the geology of Mars and influenced volatile exchange between its lithosphere, hydrosphere/cryosphere, and atmosphere. These interactions are recorded in surface minerals revealing a complex history and insights into both past and present processes, climate and habitability.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey will obtain wide-field, time-series imaging to search for microlensing events of extrasolar planet systems. The proposed project will leverage these observations to demonstrate the ability of Roman imaging to also detect transiting exoplanets. Initial estimates suggest that 100 000 new transiting planets can be discovered, which will transform our knowledge of exoplanet demographics. Our project will develop the necessary infrastructure to optimize Roman observations for transit-exoplanet science.

Recent progress in the field of cosmology has been spectacular but has thrown up some big questions: we don't know what the dominant constituents of the Universe – dark matter and dark energy - are, or even why they are present. 2025-2028 will be an extremely important period for cosmology with surveys using the ESA-led Euclid satellite mission, and the NASA-led Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope spearheading experimental advances. This project will support the senior management positions held by the PI within the teams analysing data from these experiments and provide key opportunities for the training of junior scientists.

The purpose of this funding is to support ACFN with the Terms of Reference and Workplan activities scheduled for the 2025 calendar year.