Grants and Contributions

Accretion onto black holes is the source of some of the most energetic photons observed in the Universe. The innermost region of the black hole accretion disk radiates mostly in X-rays for both stellar and supermassive mass black holes. This project will capitalize Canada’s participation in ASTROSAT by using the unparalleled simultaneous broadband X-ray data to probe the debated inner accretion dynamics of black holes across the mass range. The investigation lines up with one of Canada’s Long Range Plan main science themes (“What are the extreme conditions of the Universe?”) and with the Canadian priorities in High-Energy Astrophysics.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are energetic radio flashes that emanate from extragalactic sources of unknown origin. This project will use AstroSat and several sensitive ground-based radio telescopes (GBT, Effelsberg, and CHIME) to conduct simultaneous X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, and radio observations of FRB 20200120E, the closest known extragalactic repeating FRB, during a radio outburst. AstroSat will be used to search for multiwavelength emission from the source. The results from this study will provide new insights into the enigmatic FRB phenomenon and enhance Canada's reputation in space astronomy.

The Artemis III Geology Team Grant was awarded to Western University, whose scientist Dr. Gordon Osinski was selected to be part of the geology team through a NASA-led competitive process that was open to international scientists. The objective of this grant is to support the selected scientist and allow them to take part in the scientific team that will support the Artemis III mission planning and operations. This will include planning the scientific tasks of the astronauts as they walk on the Moon, ensuring that the mission achieves its scientific objectives, and the analysis of the returned lunar materials.

This project will support the reduction, calibration, and analysis of imaging data of several nearby giant galaxies from the UVIT instrument aboard the AstroSat space telescope. These data will be analyzed to study the properties of the giant galaxies and their related satellite systems including dwarf galaxies and globular cluster systems. These galaxies are selected to cover a range of local galactic densities so that star formation rates and histories can be studied in the context of local galactic environments. The results will complement related ground-based observations to provide a truly unique and valuable science opportunity.

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.

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 leve

The AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Society) team at the University of Waterloo is designing, testing, and fabricating a rocket that will fly to 2000 ft above ground level, then deploy a lander that will parachute back to the ground. The lander will carry a GPS/tracking system and a camera, which will provide a video recording of the landing. The rocket and payload will be designed to meet all requirements outlined by the “First Nations Launch (FNL) Moon Challenge” for the 2023-24 competition. The competition will be held in Wisconsin, where the team will work with and compete against other Indigenous student teams from across Turtle Island. Participating in this competition will help team members gain experience with collaboration, teamwork, and the application of technical skills to real-world space projects.

The Q-AISES Rocket team will compete in the NASA First Nations Launch (FNL) high powered rocketry competition, hosted by the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium (WSGC). The team is comprised of Indigenous student members of the university’s chapter of AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Society), which is an organization that encourages and supports Indigenous engagement with study and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This project offers the opportunity for Indigenous engineering and science students at Queen's University to become involved with a hands-on experiential learning project with tangible outcomes. Students come from a range of programs such as Engineering, Physics, Astrophysics, Computer Science, Health Science, Biology and Education. The team will be competing in the Mars challenge in which they will be designing, testing, and fabricating a rocket that will deploy a drone with a fabricated retractable payload at apogee. The drone will descend under parachute until it reaches 400 ft above ground level (AGL), whereat the drone parachute will release, and a TRUST-certified drone pilot will pilot the drone to a predetermined landing zone. The team also conducts educational outreach visits with Indigenous and Black youth to promote an interest in rocket science and STEM more broadly. During these visits, the team introduces rocketry through a hands-on experience, launching low-powered model rockets to 500 feet. This outreach also gives youth exposure to proximate-age Indigenous role models who are studying in STEM fields and accomplishing great things through their involvement with NASA's First Nations Launch.

CANGrow is a novel modular polyculture indoor food production system that will enable long term space exploration. The CANGrow system incorporates novel technologies in order to offer the widest possible variety of foods with optimal yield. It grows a diversity of biologically efficient food products: strawberries, cherry tomatoes, two root vegetables, microgreens, four unique culinary herbs, mini-head lettuce, an algae superfood, and a mycelial meat substitute - “space bacon”. The technology has the potential to provide over 500kg of nutrient dense food annually.