International Space Mission Training -CREATE Your Future
An NSERC Funded CREATE Training Program
And she’s off! Heather, an ISM CREATE student from Royal Military College, has officially begun the 3890km journey rowing solo across the Pacific Ocean from Monterey, California to Honolulu, Hawaii!✨ Make sure to follow along with the link to her website here. Heather’s row is to raise funds for two charities close to her heart – @tearaustralia and Emmanuel International. Safe journey Heather! Next stop… Hawaii ! ✨😊
The ISM CREATE students have scattered to their homes and are staying safe by staying home. Learning continues with the on-line nature of RMC 547 and our regular Professional Skills sessions. Unfortunately we have had to postpone the 2020 summer Space Mission Design field school and balloon launch. Current students will be given the opportunity to complete the field school in summer 2021.
We adapted our last professional skills session to share strategies for working from home and dealing with the stress of isolation. We also discussed leadership under great pressure, using the movie Apollo 13 as a study in effective leadership, communication and teamwork.
We are committed to supporting students through these difficult conditions. Stay home, stay safe.
Ten current and former ISM CREATE students attended the Division of Atmospheric and Space Physics (DASP) conference held at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton over the reading week break. In addition, 5 of the ISM CREATE faculty were in attendance.
Students participated in the first student workshop held at DASP. The workshop was organized and led by students. It was an excellent opportunity to network and meet fellow HQP in the field. The workshop introduced students to the various fields of study in the near-Earth Solar-Terrestrial environment and the techniques and instruments used in research. During the main conference, a student paper competition was held and once again ISM CREATE students came away with honours. Leonid Olifer of the University of Alberta repeated his first place showing in the competition, while Victoria Foss of the University of Calgary took 3rd place and Draven Galeschuck of the University of Saskatchewan was 1st runner up.
Concurrent engineering is a method of designing and developing products for the space sector. Contrary to traditional design methods, in concurrent engineering all subsystems are designed simultaneously. This is a far more efficient way of working, but comes with its own unique challenge: solutions in one area that could impact the design of another subsystem must be instantly identified and communicated between teams. Although concurrent engineering is a more complicated process to begin with, in effect it allows mistakes to be identified – and rectified – earlier, therefore reducing the overall design time.
Matt was recently selected to participate in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Academy’s Concurrent Engineering Workshop of January 2020 alongside 29 other students. Here is his account of the experience:
My peers originated from 12 different European countries and ranged in experience from just beginning their Master’s degree to nearly completing their PhD. We congregated in the south of Belgium for a week to analyze and design a CubeSat mission to Neptune and the heliopause.
The cohort was divided into 8 subteams: Attitude & Orbit Control, Thermal, Power, Communications, Instruments & Optics, Configuration, Structures, Trajectory, and Propulsion. I was selected for the Instruments & Optics team; our task was to implement a scientific suite to fulfill the mission’s goals. The mission, titled the Extrasolar Deepspace Gas giant Explorer (EDGE), intends to image the outer planets and measure the magnetic environment at the edge of the solar system and beyond. The space segment of the EDGE mission was constrained to a 12U cubesat form factor, and the use of radioisotope thermoelectric generators was not permitted.
The requirements imposed significant constrictions on our final design; namely our solutions for power generation and communications at distances greater than 120 AU from the Earth. The limitations of data throughput at large distances affected the design choice of the Instruments & Optics team as well.
Ultimately, I gained valuable experience in concurrent satellite design and made new connections to the European space industry. I’d like to thank the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the European Space Agency for the opportunity to participate and I look forward to working with ESA again in the future.
Interested in ESA Academy’s opportunities? check out https://www.esa.int/Education/ESA_Academy
With the support of the NSERC-CREATE travel funding I had the opportunity to attend the 2019 Canadian Space Summit, a conference on the current state of the Canadian space industry and steps forward; including lunar exploration, New Space, and more. I attended 12 sessions over 3 days, however I’m going to write about 2 that really caught my attention.
The first session of Wednesday afternoon was a roundtable discussion on the future of the Canadian commercial space sector. Prashant Shukle, Director General of the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation, had a lot to say about value-added data processing to create new insights from geospatial data. He spoke of Canada as a global leader in the past in geospatial services, and that the current geospatial industry is highly segmented into specialists. We need to think more on how we can derive social and ecological insights from geospatial data, with the motivation being “why does this data matter to humanity?” Afterwards, I spoke to Prashant briefly about how Canada can become a global geospatial leader, and he gave me a few ideas to ponder regarding my own research.
Thursday morning featured a presentation by Dr. Hilding Nielson, a professor of astronomy at the University of Toronto. Dr. Nielson spoke of the western exploration of space as another form of colonization against the first nations and indigenous people of North America. He opened his presentation with the Mi’kmaw story of Muin, a bear represented by what we now call Ursa Major. The story describes the importance of celestial objects to indigenous cultures and ways of life, often being used as axioms to perform time-keeping, meteorology, and navigation. The advancement of Western culture has impacted these customs in unexpected ways; light pollution from cities makes it ever more difficult to discern night sky objects, while more recently LEO constellations of satellites have disrupted both amateur and scientific astronomy.
A before and after representation of light pollution on the constellation Orion. Image credit: Jeremy Stanley – https://www.flickr.com/photos/79297308@N00
I had the opportunity to speak to Dr. Nielson after his presentation about the effectiveness of using what he calls Two-Eyed Seeing to teach modern astronomy: the usage of indigenous axioms to explain space phenomena can be a powerful teaching tool for higher education. Indeed, I can see great value to students to learn about both indigenous culture and astronomy simultaneously by implementing Two-Eyed Seeing.
Throughout the conference, I was confronted with the fact that the Canadian space industry is small, with few well established players. I also got the sense that this is a close knit community, and the overall theme this year was of cooperation instead of competition. Representatives from many different organizations echoed the same sentiment: together, we can grow the industry instead of fighting over the current market share.
The 8th Edition of Women in Physics Canada (WIPC 2019) was held in June at University of McGill in Montréal, Québec. Caelia Gardiner and Kim Dube, both doctoral CREATE students at the University of Saskatchewan, were able to attend with support from the NSERC-CREATE funding. This professional conference is a space where participants can build networks, explore career paths, and present research, while also promoting gender equity and taking part in conversations about women in physics, mental health, and LGTBQA+ issues.
Numerous studies demonstrate that diverse and inclusive environments promote performance, creativity, innovation, and success. Despite this, the fields of science and technology continue to suffer from a lack of diversity. The goal of this conference is therefore to support and encourage female and non-binary people in the early stages of their career to persist in this field. To achieve this goal, this conference will offer the opportunity for participants to:
Kimberlee Dube presented a poster of her research TRENDS IN STRATOSPHERIC NOX OBSERVED BY SAGE II AND OSIRIS. You can read the abstract here http://www.physics.mcgill.ca/wipc2019/agenda/WIPC_posters.pdf
ISM CREATE Master’s student Draven Galeschuk presented his results on ICEBEAR – a Very High Frequency (VHF) coherent radar. ICEBEAR produces 28GB of data per second and Draven developed at GPU data processessing technique that process the data 35 times faster than the previous system. He used the data to compare meteor trail observations from both ICEBEAR and the Saskatoon SuperDARN radar.
At this conference I not only had the opportunity to present my research to an international space physics community, but I also got to know many of the people who work within the SuperDARN community.
Draven’a area is studying the E-region of the ionosphere of the Earth using ground based radar, with a main focus on using the new coherent radar ICEBEAR, developed at the University of Saskatchewan. The SupderDARN group is a world wide network of coherent radar used for studying the polar and mid-latitude ionosphere. ICEBEAR and the Saskatoon SuperDARN site have an overlapping field of view enabling collaborative studies of E-region physics. This workshop focused on ionospheric and magnetosphere plasma physics as well as technical aspects of ionospheric radar. There were 78 participants (30 from Japan) from 11 countries who attended the workshop this year; Canada, USA, France, UK, Japan, China, Norway, Italy, India, Russia, and South Africa
The third successful balloon launch of the ISM CREATE program hit the news in Saskatchewan. The story was featured on CTV Saskatoon News at 6 and Global News Morning. Check out the story in the USask News feature.
The Canadian Space Weather Forecast Center (CSWFC) of Natural Resources
Canada invites applicants for a postdoctoral research position in the
area of ionospheric physics. The CSWFC plays a vital role in supporting
critical infrastructure operators and industry in protecting against and
mitigating the effects of space weather on technologies. Scientists
monitor, analyze, and research space weather and its impacts, and
dispatch warnings and alerts across Canada. The successful candidate
will join the ionospheric project within the CSWFC to work on improved
techniques for nowcasting and forecasting of high frequency radio
propagation conditions. *
**
*Qualifications and required skills: **Candidates must have successfully
completed a Ph. D. in space physics, ionospheric physics, or a similar
discipline, within the last three years. Preference will be given to
students that demonstrate experience in the application of ray tracing
techniques for modelling HF propagation, or experience in working with
absorption models and absorption measurements. Candidates must
demonstrate the ability to work both independently and in a team
environment. Candidates must have strong written communication skills,
as demonstrated through the publication of results in peer reviewed
scientific journals, and strong oral communication skills.*****
**
*Conditions of Employment: **This is a 12-month position expected to
start November 01, 2018 with a possibility of extension to March 31,
2020 located at the Geomagnetic Laboratory in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Salary will follow Government of Canada standards ranging from $55870 to
$61746 Canadian dollars per year based on experience. Preference will
be given to Canadian citizens. Employment is subject to security
clearance.*
**
*Application Process*: Applicants must apply to the Government of Canada
Postdoctoral Research Program
(https://emploisfp-psjobs.cfp-psc.gc.ca/psrs-srfp/applicant/page1800?poster=785734).
In addition please submit a cover letter and full curriculum vitae (CV)
describing your education, experience, publications, awards, and any
other relevant information to:
Dr. Robyn Fiori, Ph. D.
Research Scientist, Canadian Hazard Information Service
Natural Resources Canada / Government of Canada
robyn.fiori@canada.ca / Tel: 613-837-5137
*Application Deadline:* 21 September 2018
*Number of positions available:* 1-2 positions
Robyn Fiori, Ph. D.
Scientist, Canadian Hazard Information Service
Natural Resources Canada / Government of Canada
robyn.fiori@canada.ca <mailto:robyn.fiori@canada.ca> / Tel: 613-837-5137
Scientifique, Service canadien d’information sur les risques
Ressources naturelles Canada / Gouvernement du Canada
robyn.fiori@canada.ca <mailto:robyn.fiori@canada.ca> / Tél: 613-837-5137