Four university teams selected for SEDS Canada CAN-RGX challenge

The Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS Canada) have selected four university teams to compete in their annual Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge (CAN-RGX).

The 2021-22 CAN-RGX challenge is open to students at Canadian universities and colleges who want to test a small scientific payload on the National Research Council of Canada’s (NRC) Falcon 20 research aircraft. That aircraft can simulate reduced gravity environments, a useful tool to test payloads destined for space.

The competition is also supported by the Canadian Space Agency.

The teams selected this year include:

• Team Mission Spacewalker from the University of Alberta is doing space robotics research. They plan to test electroadhesive climbing robotics in microgravity. Electroadhesion is an exciting technology that allows robots to adhere to a wide range of materials and could facilitate the use of robotics for maintenance in space. [Team media contact: Makenna Kuzyk]
• Team MEMEs (Microgravity Experiment Modules Establishment) from University of Alberta is doing research in the field of 3D printing and additive manufacturing. They will study materials surface interactions for binding jetting technology. Improved understanding of this technology under microgravity conditions could enable new ways for in-space manufacturing [Team media contact: Kinston Wong]
• UVIC Rocketry from the University of Victoria is studying the formation of microfluidic water in oil droplets under microgravity conditions. Improved understanding of the fundamental forces that govern microfluidic droplet formation in microgravity could facilitate the use of microfluidics for spaceflight applications, such as biological assays to monitor health in space.[Team media contact: Scott Pederson]
• Team MICRO2 from Concordia University is investigating the use of a novel microfluidic platform to study the hyper- and micro-gravity impact on genes related to the human immune response. [Team media contact: Alessio Cusmano]