Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering Archives | Research & Innovation /research/tag/department-of-earth-space-science-engineering/ Wed, 29 Jan 2025 19:47:55 +0000 en-CA hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 91亚色's rover team finishes second in Mars challenge /research/2011/06/07/york-universitys-rover-team-finishes-second-in-mars-challenge-2/ Tue, 07 Jun 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/06/07/york-universitys-rover-team-finishes-second-in-mars-challenge-2/ The 91亚色 Rover Team 鈥 just call them YURTs 鈥 maintained their record of excellence at the international University Rover Challenge (URC) on the weekend, finishing in second place to a team from Poland in the hot deserts of Utah. (CBC also covered the team's success). Above: Members of the 91亚色 Rover Team […]

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The 鈥 just call them YURTs 鈥 maintained their record of excellence at the international (URC) on the weekend, finishing in second place to a team from Poland in the hot deserts of Utah. ( also covered the team's success).

Above: Members of the 91亚色 Rover Team pose for a group photo in the cool of the evening at the Mars Research Station, Hanksville, Utah

91亚色 first entered the challenge, sponsored by TASC (The Analytic Sciences Corporation) Inc., four years ago and has finished in the top three every year, including a first-place finish in 2009. The challenge: "Design and build the next generation of Mars rovers that will one day work alongside human explorers in the field."

Above: EVE travels the hostile clime of the Utah desert

The closest race came between the second and third place teams, and Oregon State University, who were separated by only 16 points.听 All together, the top three teams of 2011 were the same top three from 2010, but with different results.

鈥淭he level of sophistication shown by these teams was overwhelming,鈥 remarked URC director Kevin Sloan.听 鈥淭hese teams poured themselves into their rover projects over the past year, and it clearly showed.听 The level of competition was taken to an entirely new level this year.鈥

Above: EVE (Enhanced Vehicle Explorer)

The 91亚色 team left Toronto with its EVE (Enhanced Vehicle Explorer) on May 27 and drove for three days to Hanksville, Utah, arriving early to ensure they could put in some field test time in the environment.

鈥淭he past few days have been intense with emotional highs and lows,鈥 said team member Shailja Sahani. 鈥淓very team member has been putting in at least 20-hour days to make the competition a success, with some sleeping only five hours in the last three days.

鈥淓veryone came together as a team with no prodding from the leadership; they simply picked up tools and got to work. Although we were well prepared before the competition, the desert environment and harsh operating conditions required many last-minute repairs and alterations.

"Our success came from our ability to fix the rover in situ and get back to the task, while other teams were left stranded,鈥 said team member Jordan Bailey.

Bailey, one of two students responsible for the team's finances and marketing, told CBC News he thinks the current rover is the team's "best one yet." Last year, the team faced multiple equipment failures as a result of the record temperatures, which soared to 38 C in the shade. This year's model has a more robust suspension, a finer control system and better temperature regulation than its predecessor, Bailey said.

Above: Jordan Bailey & Isaac DeSouza work into the night to get EVE ready

The rover cost about $13,000 to build, slightly below the $15,000 maximum allowed. The YURT is sponsored by 91亚色, and . The faculty advisers from 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering, Faculty of Science & Engineering were Professor Michael Daly and Professor . The engineering adviser was graduate student Mark Post.

The participants included three teams from Poland, three from the United States and two from Canada. By the end of the competition, one team from each country had placed in the top three.听 The Magma2 team from the Bialystok University of Technology in Poland pulled away from the other two teams to an impressive victory.

Magma2 was the first European team to win URC.听 They also were the first team to ever deploy an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as part of the competition.

For more information, visit听the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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91亚色 study finds fog, thick haze, and 'diamond dust' on Mars /research/2011/04/06/york-study-finds-fog-thick-haze-and-diamond-dust-on-mars-2/ Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/04/06/york-study-finds-fog-thick-haze-and-diamond-dust-on-mars-2/ Nights on Mars are shrouded in icy fog that turns to scattered precipitation, according to a new study of weather near the red planet's north pole, wrote National Geographic News online April 4: The finding marks the first time that fog has been directly observed on the neighbouring world, adding to evidence that modern Mars […]

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Nights on Mars are shrouded in icy fog that turns to scattered precipitation, according to a new study of weather near the red planet's north pole, wrote :

The finding marks the first time that fog has been directly observed on the neighbouring world, adding to evidence that modern Mars experiences a type of ongoing water cycle akin to Earth's.

"Because the atmosphere is so thin on Mars, there is nothing to keep in the heat overnight, so the ground cools off very quickly," said study co-author , a [n NSERC post doctoral fellow and] planetary scientist at 91亚色 [Faculty of Science & Engineering].

"Heat from the air is lost to the ground, so the air close to the ground gets colder, and as that pocket of (cold) air gets larger," more water vapour in the atmosphere condenses into ice crystals, and the fog gets thicker, Moores said.

"The fog starts closer to the ground and rises in height over time, so the cloud gets thicker and thicker and higher and higher as the night goes on," he added.

Eventually the icy haze begins to shower the ground with a light sprinkling of snow-like particles. The shower is not quite snowfall, the scientists say, but is perhaps more akin to the "diamond dust" that falls from the skies on some cold nights in Earth's Arctic regions.

"Because we have the fog," Moores said, "that means that there is a reservoir of water [in the atmosphere] to interact with subsurface water on a daily basis."

The Martian-fog study was published in the Feb. 25 issue of Geophysical Research Letters.

Moores is also a member of the (CRESS), which has had a significant role in the lander mission.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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91亚色 displays research and innovation at YTA Solutions Showcase /research/2011/03/22/york-displays-research-and-innovation-at-yta-solutions-showcase-2/ Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/03/22/york-displays-research-and-innovation-at-yta-solutions-showcase-2/ 91亚色 researchers and students displayed their research projects and innovations at the听91亚色 Technology Alliance鈥檚听Solutions Showcase event, which took place at the Markham Convergence Centre (MCC) on March 10. Titled 鈥淕ame Changers: How local innovations are creating a new 鈥榖usiness as usual'鈥, the 91亚色 Technology Alliance (YTA) showcase encouraged participants from industry, academia and government agencies […]

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91亚色 researchers and students displayed their research projects and innovations at the听91亚色 Technology Alliance鈥檚听Solutions Showcase event, which took place at the Markham Convergence Centre (MCC) on March 10.

Titled 鈥淕ame Changers: How local innovations are creating a new 鈥榖usiness as usual'鈥, the (YTA) showcase encouraged participants from industry, academia and government agencies to display discovery research and innovations through six-minute Lightning Lectures and a hands-on Demo Lounge.

91亚色 Professor , chair of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering in the Faculty of Science & Engineering, presented the 91亚色-led Centre for Innovation in Information Visualization and Data-Driven Design (CIV-DDD). The project, which involves researchers in the Faculties of Fine Arts and Science & Engineering, along with graduate students and other industry and academic partners, promises to develop the next generation of data discovery, design and visualization techniques by developing new computational tools, representational strategies and interfaces.

Right: 91亚色 Professor Amir Asif, second from left, chats with visitors at the 91亚色 Technology Alliance's Solutions Showcase event

Professor and a group of undergraduate students from her laboratory in the Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering displayed 91亚色鈥檚 Mars rover and spoke about their successful involvement in international Mars rover competitions. A group of graduate students from Professor 鈥檚 laboratory in the School of Information Technology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, also spoke about their recent research.

MBA students Navneet Budhia, Boris Chan, Vitaliia Rubinovitch, Eli Ilatov and Shakti Kumar from the Schulich School of Business鈥 (EVCG) also participated; their members apply their skills to help local entrepreneurs grow their businesses. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really important for students to get off campus and interact with real companies,鈥 said Budhia, president of EVCG. 鈥淭his is where academia and industry meet to create value for both the companies and the students.鈥

Left: The Mars rover was on display at the showcase and was accompanied by a team of undergraduate students from the Department of Earth & Space Science and Engineering

Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation, agreed. 鈥淯niversities usually expect companies to come to our campus,鈥 he explained. 鈥淏y co-locating with industry organizations like YTA and creating a presence in the for our service unit, , 91亚色 is sending a very powerful message to our partners. We鈥檙e helping industry enhance and forge new connections to 91亚色鈥檚 research and training capacity, which demonstrates our openness to collaboration.

鈥淧aradoxically, we鈥檙e finding that it鈥檚 sometimes easier to get students and researchers to interact at our new 91亚色 Region home in the MCC than it is on our main campus.鈥

Other showcase participants included the and , 91亚色 Region鈥檚 recently announced Regional Innovation Centre. 91亚色鈥檚 participation in the YTA Solutions Showcase was made possible by a Regional Opportunities Fund grant from NSERC.

The 91亚色 Technology Alliance听Showcase was one of many ongoing events at the MCC that provide faculty and students with opportunities to seek research collaboration and internships with industry. 91亚色鈥檚 also runs programs and services at MCC providing a space to support collaboration with 91亚色 Region community organizations and municipal agencies.

To learn more about Innovation 91亚色, contact Dan Lynch, manager of industry liaison.

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer

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Dean Janusz Kozinkski on the Faculty of Science & Engineering's India mission objectives /research/2011/03/02/york-science-engineering-delegation-tours-india-2/ Wed, 02 Mar 2011 10:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/03/02/york-science-engineering-delegation-tours-india-2/ Researchers from the Faculty of Science & Engineering at Toronto's 91亚色 are currently touring India on a mission to establish key partnerships and collaborations with Indian research organizations and educational institutions, wrote Mumbai's听The Hindu Business Line Feb. 27. The delegation of 12 researchers is visiting several top-tier universities and institutes across the country such […]

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Researchers from the at Toronto's 91亚色 are currently on a mission to establish key partnerships and collaborations with Indian research organizations and educational institutions, wrote Mumbai's听The Hindu Business Line Feb. 27. The delegation of 12 researchers is visiting several top-tier universities and institutes across the country such as the IITs at Chennai and Mumbai, the Indian Space Research Organisation, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the University of Kolkata, to name a few.

The key mandate for these meetings is to enable researchers from 91亚色 and from across India to establish joint bilateral research and developmental projects. 91亚色, the third largest university in Canada, is the country's leading interdisciplinary research and teaching institution with an academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide.

Leader of the delegation is , dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering, and professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Earth & Space Sciences & Engineering. Among others, Kozinski's brainchild is an anti-terrorism project evocatively called eWAR (Early Warning & Advance Response) system that seeks to detect, quantify and initiate an effective response to chemical and biological agents released in public buildings.

In a special interview to Business Line during his visit to this newspaper office in Mumbai despite a hectic schedule, Kozinski shared for the benefit of readers the mission's objectives, research priorities, funding and related matters:

Kozinski: India is one of our three focal points. We want to engage in projects with practical social applications. Specifically, we are looking at, among other areas, space science which would cover micro and nano satellites to carry communications tools. Our focus would also be atmospheric monitoring to study global warming and climate change.

Also, we are keen to develop partnerships in the field of biotechnology for healthcare; analyse propagation of infectious diseases 鈥 their origin, spread, control and eradication through bio-sensors.

We firmly believe in creating value and sharing it with the society. Where societal benefits are involved, I am somewhat wary of creating barriers like intellectual property rights and so on. We want the society at large to benefit from our research.

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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91亚色 in the World: Researchers begin nine-day mission to India /research/2011/02/23/york-in-the-world-researchers-begin-nine-day-mission-to-india-2/ Wed, 23 Feb 2011 10:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/02/23/york-in-the-world-researchers-begin-nine-day-mission-to-india-2/ A delegation of researchers from 91亚色's Faculty of Science & Engineering will begin a nine-day mission to India today to establish partnerships and collaborations with the country's researchers. The group will visit听seven top-tier universities and research institutes during their trip. Along the way they will stop at听the India Institute of Technology's听facilities in听Mumbai (Bombay) and Madras, […]

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A delegation of researchers from 91亚色's will begin a nine-day mission to India today to establish partnerships and collaborations with the country's researchers.

The group will visit听seven top-tier universities and research institutes during their trip. Along the way they will stop at听the India Institute of Technology's听facilities in听Mumbai (Bombay) and Madras, the University of Calcutta, the Indian Space Research Organization,听the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research together with visits to other听institutes and universities during the nation-wide trip

鈥淥ur faculty considers international partnerships as the key cornerstone supporting our strategic priorities. Partnerships like those with India stimulate the spirit of innovation with clear focus on research outcomes that have an international impact,鈥 says Janusz Kozinski (right), dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering at 91亚色 and a member of the听delegation to India.

The key mandate for the trip听is to enable researchers from 91亚色 and across India to establish joint bilateral research and development projects. Halfway through their trip, the 91亚色 delegation will pause to听participate in a two-day听workshop听co-sponsored by the International Science听& Technology Partnerships Canada, Global Innovation & Technology Alliance,听the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research and India's Defence Research & Development听Organisation (DRDO).

The听workshop will bring together听more than 100 participants from research institutes and universities from Canada and England, and will include researchers and university vice-chancellors from across India.听Rajagopala Chidambaram, the principal scientific adviser to the government of India, and Vijay Kumar Saraswat, director-general of DRDO, the secretary of defence听research and development and scientific adviser to Indian Defence Minister Raksha Mantri, are among the diginitaries participating in the听workshop.

This workshop will give participants the opportunity to discuss advances and innovations in their respective areas of research, exchange information and ideas and听create further opportunities to听establish research collaborations. The gathering will be held at the DRDO听building in New Dehli.

Travelling in the 91亚色 Science & Engineering delegation are:

  • ,听professor, Department of Chemistry;
  • , professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy and associate dean of academic affairs in the Faculty of Graduate听Studies;
  • , professor,听Department of Earth听& Space Science and Engineering;
  • , professor,听Department of Computer Science听& Engineering
  • ,听professor,听Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
  • , professor, Department of Chemistry;
  • , professor,听Department of Mathematics & Statistics;
  • Paulina Karwowska-Desaulniers, research officer,听Faculty of Science & Engineering;
  • , dean,听Faculty of Science & Engineering and professor, Department of Earth听& Space Science and Engineering;
  • , professor,听Department of Earth听& Space Science and Engineering;
  • Brian Solheim, adjunct professor, Department of Earth听& Space Science and Engineering;
  • , professor,听Department of Biology.

For more information about the trip and the 91亚色 Science & Engineering delegation, visit the website.

91亚色 computer science Professor Andrew Eckford is also .

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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When do we stop looking for life on Mars? Professor Jack McConnell on the MATMOS project /research/2010/10/13/when-do-we-stop-looking-for-life-on-mars-professor-jack-mcconnell-on-the-matmos-project-2/ Wed, 13 Oct 2010 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2010/10/13/when-do-we-stop-looking-for-life-on-mars-professor-jack-mcconnell-on-the-matmos-project-2/ Will we ever be able to say there is nothing alive on Mars? asked Stephen Strauss in a听column for CBC News online Oct. 8: Exactly how do we decide when it's time to end the focus on our planetary neighbour and turn our primary exploratory efforts elsewhere? I ask in part because a casual reader […]

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Will we ever be able to say there is nothing alive on Mars? asked :

Exactly how do we decide when it's time to end the focus on our planetary neighbour and turn our primary exploratory efforts elsewhere?

I ask in part because a casual reader of recent national headlines might have been tempted to pronounce that Canada seems to have aligned with Mars. In August, the Canadian Space Agency and the California Institute of Technology agreed to develop an instrument to help measure methane in the Martian atmosphere.

It will fly on a joint NASA/European Space Agency Mars in 2016.

. . .

This interpretation is not just media blather or the fallout of all those little-green-men-on-Mars science fiction stories.

鈥淎ll the Mars science is couched around the search for life, even if it isn鈥檛 explicitly stated,鈥 says Professor , acting director of 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering in the Faculty of Science & Engineering, who is one of the scientists behind the effort.

For example, there was debate between NASA and ESA scientists about what instrument to send on the mission. Some favoured one that measured winds, another carbon dioxide, but ultimately the methane won out because of its life-on-Mars component, says McConnell.

The MATMOS instrument will try to figure out what created the methane in the Martian atmosphere. Was it the byproduct of a bacterial biology, as is the case for 90 per cent of the methane found in Earth鈥檚 atmosphere? Or did it come from some geological process such as the methane-producing oxidation of iron that happens on Earth?

If it does bear an isotopic signature of a biological source, then it follows there is something alive 鈥 probably bacteria 鈥 on Mars that is producing it. And if there is life on Mars, it seems almost imperative that humans should travel to there to find out what Martian life might be and what it might do. We will understand our evolution better if we understand their evolution better.

. . .

It is not clear what proving there鈥檚 no life on Mars would involve.

McConnell told me, 鈥淢y feeling is that if we find life, that is one type of answer. But if we don鈥檛, someone will always say, 鈥榊ou didn鈥檛 look here, you didn鈥檛 look there, you didn鈥檛 look deep enough to find the fossils.鈥欌

Professor McConnell is among the 91亚色 researchers working on the , a partnership between the , the (CSA) and . He is also a member of the (CRESS).

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin

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91亚色 researchers to develop atmospheric modelling instruments for 2016 Mars mission /research/2010/08/11/york-researchers-to-play-key-role-in-2016-mars-mission-2/ Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2010/08/11/york-researchers-to-play-key-role-in-2016-mars-mission-2/ 91亚色 researchers will participate in a mission probing the atmosphere of Mars for sources of methane, part of the ongoing search for evidence of life on the red planet. Researchers from the Faculty of Science & Engineering will be part of a team of Canadian scientists responsible for a device that will measure and […]

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91亚色 researchers will participate in a mission probing the atmosphere of Mars for sources of methane, part of the ongoing search for evidence of life on the red planet.

Researchers from the Faculty of Science & Engineering will be part of a team of Canadian scientists responsible for a device that will measure and diagnose components of Mars鈥 atmosphere. The instrument, dubbed MATMOS (Mars Atmospheric Trace Molecule Occultation Spectrometer), is a partnership between the , the (CSA) and . It will ride aboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, a joint mission by NASA and the , slated to launch in 2016.

91亚色 scientists will engage in atmospheric modelling and analysis, constructing a weather and chemical forecast of Mars that will help analyze the MATMOS composition data to assess the sources of various component gases. Methane was discovered on Mars in 2003 in greater abundance than expected; because the gas is readily produced by biological activity, it is considered a key biomarker for signs of life.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking to find out what is the source of the methane 鈥 is it biogenic or geological in origin? Much of the methane we see on Earth is life-based. Determining its source on Mars leads us one step closer to the question of whether the planet can support life,鈥 says , professor of atmospheric science in听91亚色's Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering and member of the .

Right: Jack McConnell

The MATMOS instrument will look at the atmosphere edgewise, rather than simply from above. This will enhance its ability to see multiple layers of the atmosphere.

鈥淭hink of it like looking down from the CN Tower at the smog in Toronto. When you鈥檙e peering down through it, the sky usually looks relatively clear. But if you were to look at it from the side, you鈥檇 be able to see much more pollution,鈥 he says.

The device also has a high spectral resolution, enabling it to more accurately detect the presence of a variety of gases. Besides methane, scientists will also monitor CO2, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, water vapour and ozone.

McConnell, alongside 91亚色 colleagues and Jacek Kaminski, will lend expertise to another instrument aboard the ExoMars orbiter: the SOIR-NOMAD (Solar Occultation in the InfraRed 鈥 Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery) experiment. They will contribute their knowledge in the areas of atmospheric modelling and听cloud formation on Mars.

Left: Professor Jim Whiteway, Canada Research Chair in Space Engineering & Atmospheric Science. Photo courtesy of the Canadian Space Agency.

The Canadian science team includes prominent Canadian atmospheric and planetary researchers from Dalhousie University, the University of Toronto and the University of Winnipeg.

The MATMOS instrument will build on the expertise Canada has acquired from the CSA's SCISAT-I mission, which has been using a similar technique and technology to study ozone depletion in Earth's atmosphere since 2003. The CSA will fund the conceptual phase of the Canadian contribution to MATMOS and has selected ABB Bomem as the prime contractor for the Canadian elements. Canada's contribution will include the heart of the instrument 鈥撎齛 detection instrument known as an interferometer 鈥 as well as a solar imager and optical components that will collect light for the entire instrument.

For more information, visit the听 Web site. For more information on the ExoMars orbiter experiments, visit the Web site.

By Melissa Hughes, media relations officer. Republished courtesy of YFile鈥 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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91亚色 researcher part of international team developing instrument to map asteroid /research/2010/06/30/york-researcher-part-of-team-developing-instrument-to-map-asteroid-2/ Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2010/06/30/york-researcher-part-of-team-developing-instrument-to-map-asteroid-2/ The Canadian Space Agency invests in concept studies for future space mission to Venus, the Moon or an Asteroid The Canadian Space Agency has awarded two contracts to Richmond, BC-based MDA and a contract to the University of Calgary to develop three different concept studies for Canada鈥檚 participation in NASA鈥檚 New Frontiers Program 鈭 the […]

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The Canadian Space Agency invests in concept studies for future space mission to Venus, the Moon or an Asteroid

The Canadian Space Agency has awarded two contracts to Richmond, BC-based and a contract to the University of Calgary to develop three different concept studies for Canada鈥檚 participation in NASA鈥檚 Program 鈭 the next space venture to another celestial body in our solar system.

Under these contracts, worth $500,000 each, MDA and the University of Calgary will work with international science research teams to develop preliminary designs for the three proposed missions, one of which will be selected by NASA for launch on a planetary space mission between 2016 and 2018. The final decision will be made in 2011.

Michael Daly, a professor in the Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science听& Engineering, is the deputy science team lead on the University of Calgary鈥檚 project. He will oversee the Canadian instrument development for the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx), which would collect samples from a primitive asteroid and return them to Earth. The samples would help scientists better understand the formation of our solar system and the origin of complex molecules necessary for life.

Left: NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope set its infrared eyes upon the dusty remains of shredded asteroids around several dead stars. This artist's concept illustrates one such dead star, or white dwarf, surrounded by the bits and pieces of a disintegrating asteroid. Image:听NASA/JPL Caltech.

The OSIRIS-REx proposal includes a lidar instrument, based in part on the Canadian-built laser used on NASA's Phoenix-Mars lander. Daly will collaborate with colleagues at the Universities of Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and British Columbia to develop a lidar capable of mapping asteroids and moons. Michael Drake at the University of Arizona in Tucson is the principal investigator for the overall project.

鈥淭his project builds upon 91亚色鈥檚 long history of successful collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency and our expertise in developing instrumentation for space research,鈥 said Michael Siu, associate vice-president research, science & technology. 鈥淲e have every confidence that Professor Daly and the rest of the OSIRIS-REx team will make significant strides.鈥

Daly, a former staff member at MDA, was the chief engineer for the Phoenix Meteorological Station project. He joined 91亚色鈥檚 faculty in January 2010.

鈥淭he selection process for missions like is highly competitive,鈥 said Canadian Space Agency president Steve MacLean. 鈥淚t is a testament to Canadian talent that our industry and academic community are part of all three candidates for the mission. No matter which proposal wins, it is significant that Canada is in a position to play a highly visible and vital role in the final mission.鈥

The Canadian Space Agency has also published a .

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

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Ontario Centre of Excellence's Discovery 2010 was now, not next /research/2010/06/15/ontario-centre-of-excellences-discovery-2010-was-now-not-next-2/ Tue, 15 Jun 2010 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2010/06/15/ontario-centre-of-excellences-discovery-2010-was-now-not-next-2/ Discovery 2010, the Ontario Centre of Excellence鈥檚 annual conference to showcase and celebrate Ontario innovation, is one of Ontario鈥檚 flagship programs that supports and promotes research at Ontario鈥檚 universities, colleges, research institutions and companies. Held May 17 and 18, Discovery 2010 was billed as 鈥淲here next Happens鈥 for Clean Tech, Health Tech, High Tech and […]

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Discovery 2010, the Ontario Centre of Excellence鈥檚 annual conference to showcase and celebrate Ontario innovation, is one of Ontario鈥檚 flagship programs that supports and promotes research at Ontario鈥檚 universities, colleges, research institutions and companies. Held May 17 and 18, Discovery 2010 was billed as 鈥淲here next Happens鈥 for Clean Tech, Health Tech, High Tech and Digital Media.

91亚色's 2010 Rover rolls through the desert

91亚色 had several different presentations at Discovery 2010. Professors , George Zhu, , Costas Armenakis, , Hugh Chesser and Baoxin Hu from the Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering had several displays, including an underwater robot, a nanosatellite, computer vision and a Mars rover.

Professor Regina Lee and her students, also from the Department of Earth & Space Science, showed off their Mars rover and the massive trophy they won for placing first in the 2009 University Rover Challenge in Utah (where the land apparently resembles the surface of Mars 鈥 who knew?). The group also placed second in the 2010 competition this month.

Professor kept crowds happy playing his iPhone app, 鈥溾 which debuted at . 91亚色鈥檚 digital media display also featured the projects funded by the Ontario Media Development Corporation (, led by Professor Nell Tenhaff in the Faculty of Fine Arts) and the Ontario Research Fund (the , led by Professor John Tsotsos in the Faculty of Science & Engineering).

Meanwhile, , a partner in the 91亚色-led 3D FLIC project, drew crowds who didn鈥檛 mind sharing 3D glasses to experience their stunning 3D television footage.

3D Camera Company's 3D TV display at Discovery10

, a Regional Innovation Network for biotechnology in 91亚色 Region for which 91亚色 is a founding partner, was also represented by Janet Leclair and Sana Mulji Dutt.

Among the event鈥檚 highlights were the awards ceremonies, including the , innovation awards and many awards for Ontario鈥檚 best researchers, students and companies.听 Amongst these was the award for . The winning team, lead by Armen Bakirtzian, included a 91亚色 MBA candidate, Ara Hasserjian.

Discovery 2010 provided an excellent introduction and overview for Sarah Fuller who joined 91亚色 May 17 as associate director, research agreements and intellectual property where she

will lead 91亚色鈥檚 technology commercialization group. If your research involves non-academic partners (such as community, government, industry) or if you are required to transfer research funding, information or materials to another institution, Sarah can be reached at extension 20579 or by e-mail at sfuller@yorku.ca.

91亚色's computer science displays at Discovery10.

So what鈥檚 next for now? 91亚色 is actively supporting industrial collaborations for faculty and students. Through expert services, industry liaison and technology commercialization under the Office of the Voce-President Research & Innovation, 91亚色 will help connect your research to industrial partners. Companies can also explore working with 91亚色 researchers and grad students.

For more information, contact David Phipps, director, Research Services and Knowledge Exchange at 416-736-5813 or dphipps@yorku.ca.

By David Phipps, director, Research Services and Knowledge Exchange.

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Snow-discovering spacecraft finally bites the Martian dust /research/2010/05/28/snow-discovering-spacecraft-finally-bites-the-martian-dust-2/ Fri, 28 May 2010 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2010/05/28/snow-discovering-spacecraft-finally-bites-the-martian-dust-2/ The Phoenix is dead and this time it won鈥檛 rise again. On May 24, NASA released photos of the Mars Phoenix lander that finally ended even the faintest hope that the 91亚色-designed weather instruments on board the spacecraft would come to life again. The photos show that the lander鈥檚 solar panels appear to have collapsed […]

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The Phoenix is dead and this time it won鈥檛 rise again.

On May 24, NASA released photos of the Mars Phoenix lander that finally ended even the faintest hope that the 91亚色-designed weather instruments on board the spacecraft would come to life again. The photos show that the lander鈥檚 solar panels appear to have collapsed due to the weight of a thick layer of frost, robbing it of power it needs to communicate 鈥 if its physical components were not already cracked and broken by the extreme cold.

91亚色's Mars Phoenix teamLeft: Members of the 91亚色 Phoenix team nervously await the first results from Mars on May 28, 2008

Although none of the Phoenix team at 91亚色 held out much hope for Phoenix鈥檚 survival, the news from NASA made it official. The team will be toasting both the project鈥檚 success and the lander鈥檚 demise tonight at the Space Science Symposium: Reflections on Canada鈥檚 Past and Future Achievements in Space Science, being held to honour the 50-year career of Gordon Shepherd, Distinguished Research Professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering.

鈥淲e will be celebrating the accomplishment and the fact that it鈥檚 finally over,鈥 said 91亚色 Professor Jim Whiteway, principal investigator for the Canadian portion of the Phoenix project, which was led by the University of Arizona and NASA.

The Phoenix touched down on the Red Planet two years ago and provided the world with the stunning revelation that it snows on Mars (see YFile, Oct. 1, 2008). But the lander, whose meteorology instruments were designed by Whiteway and his team from 91亚色鈥檚 Centre for Research in Earth & Space Science (CRESS) in the Faculty of Science & Engineering (FSE), was never designed to withstand a Martian winter. 鈥淲e stopped hoping it would respond in March,鈥 said Whiteway. 鈥淲e never did make any plans 鈥 it wasn鈥檛 designed to survive the winter.鈥

NASA issued a story and photos (right) taken by the Mars Odyssey orbiter (see ), which flew over the landing site 61 times during a final attempt to communicate with the lander. No transmission from the lander was detected. Phoenix also did not communicate during 150 flights in three earlier listening campaigns this year.

Since the work of the mission ended with the onset of the Martian winter in November 2008, Whiteway and his team have published 15 papers in international journals reporting new knowledge that has changed our understanding of the climate and the hydrological cycle on Mars. These results are now informing a new generation of computer models being used to study the climate on Mars. 鈥淭hey are simple observations and would be quite pedestrian on earth,鈥 Whiteway said, 鈥渂ut they are quite something else on a different planet.鈥

Alan Carswell, chair of the board at Optech, professor emeritus at 91亚色听and developer of听the lidar technology, said it was fitting that the Space Seminar, where he is also speaking, is being held on the very day two years ago that the 91亚色 team received the first results from Phoenix鈥檚 MET package. It was a few days later that the instrument confirmed that it snows on Mars. 鈥淭hat was a pure lidar observation 鈥 without it the snow wouldn鈥檛 have been detected,鈥 Carswell said. 鈥淭he fact that it was our lidar that allowed it to be seen was really quite reassuring and satisfying.鈥

A view of one of Phoenix's solar panels after the landing on Mars

With the project reports all but complete, the 91亚色 team听is now focusing on new proposals for missions to map asteroids and moons using the lidar technology that was a key component of the Phoenix鈥檚 MET package. These projects are being led by 91亚色 Professor Michael Daly, a former staff member at MDA Space Missions who was the chief engineer for the Phoenix MET project and then joined FSE as a professor in January.

Phoenix鈥檚 meteorological component was a collaboration led by 91亚色, in partnership with the University of Alberta, Dalhousie University, the University of Aarhus (Denmark), the Finnish Meteorological Institute, MDA Space Missions and Optech Inc., with $37 million in funding from the Canadian Space Agency. The mission was a of NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratories and the University of Arizona.

For more information on the science results of the mission and links to more stories about Phoenix, see YFile, July 6, 2009.

By David Fuller, contributing YFile writer.

Republished courtesy of YFile.

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