Grants and Contributions

The objective of this AO is to support Canadian students to participate in national and international space conferences and training events that will offer them the opportunity to learn about and be involved in the latest developments in space science and technology, to develop their professional network, and in some cases, present their research results at the national and international level.

The objective of this AO is to support Canadian students to participate in national and international space conferences and training events that will offer them the opportunity to learn about and be involved in the latest developments in space science and technology, to develop their professional network, and in some cases, present their research results at the national and international level.

This VLA+JWST project aims to study the gas-rich protocluster J08 (z = 2.66), hosting 11 dusty star-forming galaxies with a total SFR > 5000 M☉/yr. VLA CO(1-0) and JWST/NIRCam data will trace molecular gas and stellar populations to examine how dense environments drive galaxy evolution at Cosmic Noon, completing a full CO and [CI] line analysis when combined with existing ALMA observations.

The objective of this AO is to support Canadian students to participate in national and international space conferences and training events that will offer them the opportunity to learn about and be involved in the latest developments in space science and technology, to develop their professional network, and in some cases, present their research results at the national and international level.

This project will use JWST/NIRCam to perform the deepest survey for Kuiper Belt Objects ever. This will result in a Kuiper Belt size distribution down to ~1 km in size, the size of impactor responsible for the craters on Pluto. By tying the size distribution to the cratering record, this survey will provide extremely strong constraints on the formation processes experienced by Kuiper Belt Objects, and provide a direct measure of the timescale of rheological processes occurring on the surfaces of Pluto and Charon.

This project aims to perform a full panchromatic characterization of the warm Neptune TOI-674 b (640 K) using JWST, observing both transmission (0.6 – 12 µm) and emission (3 – 5.2 µm) spectra. TOI-674 b is uniquely suited for this dual-geometry study, enabling constraints on aerosol properties, atmospheric chemistry, and thermal structure. The results will break cloud-metallicity degeneracies, probe CH4/CO chemistry, assess potential tidal heating, and reveal formation and migration pathways, establishing TOI-674 b as a benchmark for warm Neptune atmospheres.

The proposed project will develop and validate a second-generation radiation-hardened RISC-V microcontroller for aircraft mission control and on-board data processing. The microcontroller proposed in this project will build on previous work for the first-generation RISC-V microcontroller and will enhance computing capability and include a more advanced 12nm Fin Field-Effect Transistor (FinFET) technology node to achieve high-speed and low-power performance. This will be the one of the first attempts in Canada to design a 32-bit radiation-hardened RISC-V microcontroller using advanced FinFET transistor technology. The project will not only develop core enabling technologies for the Canadian space industry but will also train students through hands-on experience.

CARAT is a space-based instrument that will fly in low-Earth orbit on a CubeSat and act as a known reference source for Canadian and other ground-based radio telescopes. This “artificial radio star” can be observed, tracked, and used to calibrate their receivers to greatly improve their accuracy. This project will develop and test the payload for CARAT to prepare it for a future flight and involves the development of several cutting-edge space technologies, increasing their technology readiness level in the process. The project will also train personnel in space-related areas, particularly CubeSat payloads and technology as well as radio astronomy, to build greater space capacity in Canada.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun (FNNND), using space-based data to support local priorities, providing updated information for wetland mapping, and improving knowledge of local hydrology and carbon storage. The project will combine drone imagery, satellite data, and field measurements to capture the unique characteristics of peatlands in sloped areas. It will also test new quantum dot SWIR technology while assessing smouldering peatland wildfires by tracking their movement over time and will use field and drone-based observations to improve models that predict how smouldering fires on flat and sloped terrain start, spread, and stop. The project will deliver updated peatland maps, detailed time-series maps of smouldering fire progression, empirical models linking drone and satellite data, and validated insights into fire behavior that can be used to support wildfire monitoring, emissions estimation, and land management strategies.

The project aims to conduct Ku- and L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) experiments during the 2026-2028 winter seasons at Forêt Montmorency, QC, to better understand radar responses to seasonal snow changes in forested environments. The main objectives include: collecting polarimetric Ku- and L-band SAR data and detailed measurements of snowpack and forest biophysical properties; developing a comprehensive reference dataset to enhance Terrestrial Snow Mass Mission (TSMM) retrieval methods for forested terrain; and training highly qualified personnel (HQP) in snow, soil, and forest biomass characterization, SAR data processing, and TSMM retrieval approaches. Key deliverables are a robust dataset for TSMM development, improved retrieval techniques for snow mass estimation in forests, and specialized HQP skills in advanced SAR remote sensing and data analysis.