Canadian Space Agency awards $2.8 million to space science research

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has awarded $2.8 million in space science grants to 14 universities for a variety of scientific explorations.

James Webb Space Telescope

The largest funding tranche will go to observations using the James Webb Space Telescope (Cycle 3). $1.4 million will be divided between 16 projects at the following universities; Dalhousie University, Saint Mary’s University, Western University, Université de Montréal, University of Toronto, University of Victoria and York University.

The CSA press release stated that “Canadian astronomers will be able to search for the first stars and galaxies created after the Big Bang to better understand how galaxies, stars and planets are born and evolve over time, explore distant worlds and study our solar system.”

Canada contributed the Fine Guidance Sensor and Near‑Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) to the Webb Telescope.

Research Opportunities in Space Science (ROSS – Cycle 3)

The ROSS Cycle 3 will see seven universities split $1.1 million that the CSA says “will enable the advancements of science and technology through space research and by enhancing the involvement of Canadian researchers in several international missions.”

Receiving funding are the following projects:

• University of Toronto ($150,000) – Scientific Camera for the Czech Quick Ultra-Violet Kilonova Surveyor
  • The Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto is contributing the primary science camera, the U of T developed “LUVCam” to the Czech National space telescope mission: Quick Ultra-VIolet Kilonova surveyor (QUVIK). The Dunlap Institute is granted full partnership and Co-I status on QUVIK, access to all data, and observing time on the mission. Graduate students, faculty, fellows, and staff are flying LUVCam on the GRBBeta CubeSat mission, which launched in July 2024 as technology development precursor to QUVIK. LUVCam will open a new path to low-cost, high quality space astronomy for universities and scientists worldwide.

• Bishop’s University ($150,000) – One Hundred Thousand New Transitioning Exoplanets with the Nacy Grace Roman Telescope
  • 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.

• University of Waterloo ($150,000) – Cosmological measurements from the Euclid and Roman Space telescopes
  • 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 analyzing data from these experiments and provide key opportunities for the training of junior scientists.

• Saint Mary’s University ($150,000) – Super-charging Euclid’s Deep Field North
  • The project will combine U-band imaging from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) with Euclid, Subaru, and Spitzer data in the Euclid Deep Field North to produce photometric catalogs of millions of galaxies over an unprecedented combination of area (10 sq deg) and depth (27 mag). The U-band data we will add to this dataset is key for accurate photometric redshifts and measuring rates of star formation in galaxies. The joint catalogs will open a large field of science areas for investigation; in particular, the team will study how the fates of millions of galaxies are governed by their locations within the filamentary, Universe-pervading Cosmic Web. The catalogs will contain millions of galaxies and will be made public enabling a vast array of research and a legacy treasure-trove.

• University of Western Ontario ($150,000) – The Colour and Surface Stereo Imaging System (CaSSIS) onboard the 2016 ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO): Planetary
  • 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.

• Université de Sherbrooke ($150,000) – Characterizing the composition and regolith properties at Reiner Gamma from the orbit to the ground
  • The Lunar Vertex payload will be delivered to the Moon to study the Reiner Gamma lunar swirl, a bright, unusual marking, collocated with a magnetic anomaly, both of unknown origin. Our main objective is to characterize the composition and regolith properties at the Reiner Gamma swirl from the orbit to the ground, to better constrain its origin. The team will use the orbital remote sensing images and images acquired by a microscope on the rover to characterize the composition and texture of the regolith before and during the Lunar Vertex mission, as the rover drives across the swirl.

• University of Lethbridge ($225,000) – Human Adaptation to Spaceflight: An Integrated Metabolomic Analysis of ISS Data
  • Humans are spending more time in space than ever before. It is therefore critical to understand how the human body adapts to life in space and how health can be protected from stresses associated with spaceflight. Using patented technologies and artificial intelligence, this project will determine the complex biological responses to long-duration spaceflight over time. This research provides an unprecedented opportunity to participate in NASA’s very first comprehensive multi-level analysis of the world’s largest existing astronaut cohort. The goal is to characterize the cellular mechanisms leading to health risks during spaceflight and identify protective factors and countermeasures.

X‑ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM)

Saint Mary’s University and University of Waterloo will each receive $100,000. XRISM is an international space mission led Led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) “that studies extreme events in space and furthers our understanding of the universe. With XRISM, new technologies have opened a new horizon in X‑ray astronomy.”

AstroSat mission

McGill University, University of Alberta and University of Calgary will receive $136,000. The CSA states that “Canadian researchers will be studying a wide range of astrophysical phenomena, including hot, high-energy objects in the universe like young stars and black holes.”

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