Science

Space Agencies Unite for Mars Missions

NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency have joined to share resources and expertise on three future science missions to Mars. In three separate robotic missions (the first in 2016), both agencies will study the possibility of past life on the Red Planet, as well as test communications relays and other geochemical and biological mysteries. The third mission, in the 2020’s, …

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Canadian Space Agency to Contribute to 2016 ExoMars Mission

Canadians will once again be at the forefront of the ongoing exploration of Mars as it was announced yesterday by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) that they would be contributing to ExoMars mission. Canada’s contribution will be the shared development with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the Mars Atmospheric Trace Molecule Occultation Spectrometer (MATMOS) instrument onboard the …

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The Future Direction of Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (Podcast)

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) recently held its annual general assembly in Fredericton between July 1-4. One key event at the general assembly was an open forum and panel discussion titled “Boldly Navigating Where no one has Gone Before: The Future of the RASC in the 21st Century. The panel discussion was recorded for the Starizona’s Let’s Talk Stars radio programme hosted by …

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A Night Dive in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia

From researcher Dale Andersen: “During the PLRP field season of 2009, Dr. Ian Hawes and I made several night dives. Here you can see Ian exploring the microbialites, searching for grazers such as amphipods and snails that might have an impact upon the overall growth and morphology of the structures. The underwater video was taken with my Sony PMW-EX1 in a Gates Housing using a …

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Wheels Installed on Mars Curiosity Rover

The wheels and suspension system have been installed on NASA’s next Mars rover, Curiosity, a key step in assembly and testing of the flight system for the Mars Science Laboratory mission slated to launch next year. The centerpiece of MSL, Curiosity has six wheels and a rocker-bogie suspension system like its smaller predecessors: Spirit, Opportunity and Sojourner. Each wheel has its own drive motor and …

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Pavilion Lake in British Columbia Makes for a Good Planetary Analog

A group of researchers from academia, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and NASA are currently at Pavilion Lake in British Columbia exploring and studying the origin of rare freshwater carbonate rock formations found there. This research not only helps us better understand our knowledge of the earth it prepares for future exploration of the moon and Mars.

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Astronaut Chris Hadfield Interviewed on his NEEMO Experience

From May 10 to 23, 2010 astronaut Chris Hadfield was the commander of the NEEMO 14 mission. NEEMO is NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations project. In this interview Hadfield discusses the mission aboard the Aquarius habitat, his responsibilites as commander, the challenges of living in an extreme environment, offers insights on how this mission provides valuable insight on space exploration, and descibes his own career …

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