space missions Archives | Research & Innovation

North 91��ɫ Mirror covers 91��ɫ's involvement in 2016 Mars mission to search for life

fmaquito — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0000

91��ɫ researchers will take part in a mission probing Mars’ atmosphere for methane sources in an effort to find evidence of life on the 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’ atmosphere.

The instrument, dubbed MATMOS (Mars Atmospheric Trace Molecule Occultation Spectrometer) is a partnership between the , the (CSA) and .

According to the University, the instrument, which has yet to be built, will ride aboard the ExoMars Trace Orbiter, a joint mission by NASA and the European Space Agency, slated to launch in 2016.

91��ɫ 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.

“You can say in some respect [that] Mars can host life, but can it host life now?” asked , professor of atmospheric science at 91��ɫ. “Mars has a bit of an ozone layer but it’s thin. Mars could have looked differently millions of years ago.”

McConnell, along with colleagues Professor and researcher Jacek Kaminski, will also lend expertise on the SOIR-NOMAD (Solar Occultation in the InfraRed – Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery), another instrument set to board the ExoMars Trace Orbiter.

As for the fascination surrounding the red planet, McConnell said it’s Earth’s nearest neighbour likely to have any evidence of life. “Venus isn’t likely, Mercury doesn’t have an atmosphere and Jupiter has no surface to speak of,” he said. “Mars is the thing nearest to us that can most likely harbour life. That’s what intrigues people.”

The .

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Paul Delaney on Canadian aerospace industry's future growth in age of privatized space travel

fmaquito — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0000

A controversial decision by Barack Obama to privatize the exploration of space could be a blessing for Canada’s aerospace industry, say experts in the field, who argue that this country’s space agency and its associated industries are in a prime position to hitch their wagon to the US president’s initiative on a ride toward the stars, Mars and potential riches, :

“Obama’s vision for the future of NASA…is putting a lot of stock in the private sector,” says Paul Delaney, a professor of physics & astronomy in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Science & Engineering. “There have been a lot of groups that have been trying to position themselves to take advantage of what they see as a commercial opportunity in the coming decade. And I think they are right.”

Delaney says Obama’s vision is clear on what the next generation of space exploration vehicle should do: study near-Earth asteroids – and their potential wealth of resources – and get ready to go to Mars.

If industry can deliver on the “low-Earth orbit” side of space exploration, he says, such as the “taxi” activity of restocking the International Space Station, NASA will be free to pursue larger goals “of getting away from Earth entirely.”

But Canada ultimately stands to profit, Delaney says, pointing to our track record in robotics and space technology, which will be needed as the groundwork is laid for future travel. “There’s a good history here as far as developing space hardware, instrumentation,” he says. “I think you’re going to see stepped-up activity from Canadian industry to contribute in a more significant way.”

91��ɫ has considerable space research capacity through the (CRESS) and the . Recently, one of , funded by and the (CSA).

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, with files courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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91��ɫ researcher part of international team developing instrument to map asteroid

fmaquito — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:00:00 +0000

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’s participation in NASA’s Program − 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��ɫ’s Faculty of Science��& Engineering, is the deputy science team lead on the University of Calgary’s 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:��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.

“This project builds upon 91��ɫ’s long history of successful collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency and our expertise in developing instrumentation for space research,” said Michael Siu, associate vice-president research, science & technology. “We have every confidence that Professor Daly and the rest of the OSIRIS-REx team will make significant strides.”

Daly, a former staff member at MDA, was the chief engineer for the Phoenix Meteorological Station project. He joined 91��ɫ’s faculty in January 2010.

“The selection process for missions like is highly competitive,” said Canadian Space Agency president Steve MacLean. “It 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.”

The Canadian Space Agency has also published a .

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

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Snow-discovering spacecraft finally bites the Martian dust

fmaquito — Fri, 28 May 2010 08:00:00 +0000

The Phoenix is dead and this time it won’t rise again.

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

Left: Members of the 91��ɫ Phoenix team nervously await the first results from Mars on May 28, 2008

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

“We will be celebrating the accomplishment and the fact that it’s finally over,” said 91��ɫ 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��ɫ’s Centre for Research in Earth & Space Science (CRESS) in the Faculty of Science & Engineering (FSE), was never designed to withstand a Martian winter. “We stopped hoping it would respond in March,” said Whiteway. “We never did make any plans – it wasn’t designed to survive the winter.”

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. “They are simple observations and would be quite pedestrian on earth,” Whiteway said, “but they are quite something else on a different planet.”

Alan Carswell, chair of the board at Optech, professor emeritus at 91��ɫ��and developer of��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��ɫ team received the first results from Phoenix’s MET package. It was a few days later that the instrument confirmed that it snows on Mars. “That was a pure lidar observation – without it the snow wouldn’t have been detected,” Carswell said. “The fact that it was our lidar that allowed it to be seen was really quite reassuring and satisfying.”

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

With the project reports all but complete, the 91��ɫ team��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’s MET package. These projects are being led by 91��ɫ 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’s meteorological component was a collaboration led by 91��ɫ, 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’s 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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Video: Senior Lecturer Paul Delaney on Hubble's 20th anniversary and scientific impact

fmaquito — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0000

, senior lecturer and director of the Division of Natural Science in the , spoke to CTV News about the Hubble telescope's 20th anniversary and its impact on science.

You can watch , which runs for approximately six minutes. Here's an excerpt:

The Hubble telescope marks two decades in space this month, where it has captured stunning images that have had a profound effect on our understanding of the universe.

And to celebrate, NASA has released a recent image that shows a star factory in action.

91��ɫ Paul Delaney said the image of the Carina nebula, one of the largest star formation regions that exists, captures "the wonderful interplay between dust, gas and stellar embryos."

Although the way stars are formed has been known for some time, there was no way to get a front-row view of the action until Hubble.

"Hubble has been able to peel aside some of the veils which have always annoyed astronomers and gotten right into the deepest parts of star formation areas," Delaney told CTV News Channel this week.

"It's a vindication of the stellar evolutionary theories, and that's really what Hubble has been about," he said. "It has been able to confirm, deny and advance the theories of astrophysics in such a wonderfully pictorial way."

In another photo of deep space taken by Hubble with an exposure of one million seconds, or four and a half days, nearly 10,000 galaxies are visible, Delaney said. Some of the galaxies are younger than one billion years old, which means the image allows scientists to see back 12 million years in time.

Hubble looks through many different filters -- including ultraviolet and infrared ones -- to capture "the full breadth and beauty of the image," Delaney explained.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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91��ɫ welcomes Professor Janusz Kozinski, Faculty of Science & Engineering's new dean

fmaquito — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0000

91��ɫ has appointed Janusz Kozinski as dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering.

Kozinski will begin a five-year term at 91��ɫ on July 1. He has been dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan since 2007, but spent much of his career at McGill University.

A widely acknowledged expert in sustainable energy systems and immune building concepts (focused on anti-bioterrorism), Kozinski has created and led multidisciplinary teams throughout his career, linking research on energy, environmental issues, public health and security.

“I’m looking forward to welcoming Dean Kozinski to our Faculty of Science & Engineering,” said President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. “His research achievements and leadership skills will help to ensure that students receive an excellent education and will enhance 91��ɫ’s reputation for innovation.”

Right: Janusz Kozinski

Educated in Poland, Kozinski earned master of engineering and PhD degrees from AGH University of Science & Technology in Krakow, and did post-doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before joining McGill University’s Faculty of Engineering in 1994.

He was appointed associate vice-principal (research��& international relations) at McGill in 2005. He has also completed the Oxford Advanced Management & Leadership Programme at Oxford University's Saïd Business School and the Executive Education Crisis Leadership in Higher Education program at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Kozinski’s research includes projects related to sustainable energy systems, the next generation of nuclear reactors, environmental impact of energy technology, greenhouse gas mitigation, and many other topics, including Mars exploration.

In 2006, he was named International Chair in Bioenergy for the Institute for Advanced Studies and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France. While at the CNRS in 2002-2003, Kozinski researched how to mix metals from Mars’ crust and CO2 from its atmosphere to generate enough energy for a return trip from Mars − a project that took him to space on a series of zero-gravity parabolic flights organized by the European Space Agency.

“Being asked to lead a Faculty that includes both scientific research and engineering expertise, at a major university in Canada, is a unique opportunity,” said Kozinski. “I would characterize 91��ɫ as ‘i-squared’ − a very interdisciplinary and very international university. Those are among the key things that are going to be the driving force in science and engineering in the 21st century.”

Kozinski will succeed Interim Dean Walter Tholen.��"I want to thank Interim Dean Tholen for his outstanding leadership and efforts during this past year," said Shoukri.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Video: 91��ɫ astronomer speaks to CTV about Endeavour space mission

fmaquito — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Paul Delaney, senior lecturer and astronomer in the 's Department of , appeared on CTV NewsNet last Sunday to talk about the success of the space shuttle Endeavour's mission, the remaining four flights scheduled for 's space shuttle program, and the 's ongoing role in providing laboratory space.

Delaney's interview is (the video will start automatically following a short commercial). It runs for approximately four and a half minutes.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

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