Canada was all over the solar system – and even peering beyond its borders – in 2020. Canadian technology helped a spacecraft touch down on a comet, and was named to hunt for exoplanets on a future NASA telescope. Canadian researchers were also busy with space science studies, and companies continued to win contracts amid a tough economic environment due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Below are SpaceQ’s picks for the top 10 Canadian space science stories of 2020, followed by a link to an article where you can learn more about this topic.
10) Satellite constellations could hurt astronomy and machinery: The Canadian Astronomical Society/Société Canadienne d’Astronomie (CASCA) issued a statement in February expressing concern about the rise of satellite constellations. SpaceX, OneWeb and other companies are starting to put fleets of small satellites into orbit, which could eventually number in the tens of thousands for some firms. While the companies are making efforts to darken individual satellites, sensitive telescopes can still catch sight of these satellites – and the collision risk is bound to rise, CASCA said. The society urged a spirit of collaboration in dealing with this ongoing challenge. Read: The Canadian Astronomical Society issues a statement on satellite constellations
9) Radio bursts could come from star cores: A Canadian-led team using the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) concluded that an intense cosmic radio burst may be associated with a magnetar, or a star with a very strong magnetic field. CHIME allows for a wide-field view of the sky, thus allowing researchers more chances at detecting one of these rare fast radio bursts (FRBs). The observations of this FRB were also unique in that CHIME showed researchers an associated X-ray burst for the first time, likely because the explosion was relatively close to Earth (within our own Milky Way). Read: Do mysterious space radio bursts come from star cores? New research shows it’s possible
8) Thirty-Meter Telescope faces construction delay: The Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Advisory Committee (CATAC) advised in September that construction on the observatory may be delayed until 2023. The telescope has been delayed a few times due to Indigenous concerns about using the summit of Maunakea in Hawaii, due to the mountain’s importance in Indigenous culture. The construction timeline is also under pressure due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Once completed in the 2020s, the goal of the observatory is to study the early universe, including when the first light sources were formed. The observatory is also optimized to search for exoplanets and possibly, even biosignatures. Read: Thirty-Meter Telescope Construction Could Be Delayed Until 2023
7) MDA wins contract for space station centrifuge: MDA and StarFish Medical will design and develop a centrifuge that will be used with the MicroPREP lab-on-a-chip on the International Space Station. Lab-on-a-chip has been of use on Earth in facets such as looking for food samples in pathogens, allowing scientists to get results in only about 90 minutes instead of several days. Centrifuges are also of interest in space because they allow scientists to conduct experiments in a microgravity environment, which could lead to more advances in medicines and manufacturing. Read: MDA wins $5.4 million contract for space station centrifuge
6) Possible ‘exomoons’ spotted: A Western University team scoured old Kepler space telescope data and found six possible exomoons in the old information. The team may have spotted these elusive worlds using a technique known as “transit timing variations”, which shows how much change there is between when a planet is supposed to pass in front of its star, and when it actually does. Gravitational disturbances from an exomoon could affect the timing of a planet’s transit. Read: Canadian team finds six potential exomoons
5) Was early Mars colder than we thought? Canadian Arctic research, accompanied with studies of Mars, shows that the Red Planet may not have had flowing water on the surface after all. Around 10,000 Martian valleys were analyzed using a novel algorithm to determine their erosion processes, and the researchers concluded that subglacial and fluvial erosion were mostly responsible to what we saw. Observations in regions such as Canada’s Devon Island helped researchers understand the possible “ground truth” of what we see on Mars. Read: Canadian research indicates early Mars did not have flowing rivers
4) Canadian tech will assist in exoplanet hunt: Canadian company ABB and Swiss company Nüvü Camēras have teamed up to provide camera tech to let an exoplanet telescope search for other worlds. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is expected to launch in 2025 and will use the cameras to ferret out the subtle light of exoplanets from background noise. Previous funding from the Canadian Space Agency Space Technology Development Program assisted in the contract win. Read: Canadian camera technology to fly on NASA exoplanet telescope
3) Perseverance and helicopter fly to Mars: Mars will be a busy planet in 2021 as three new spacecraft, including NASA’s Perseverance rover, aim to show us more about the Red Planet’s history. NASA’s Perseverance rover and a test mini-helicopter will scour their landing site for signs of ancient habitability, with Canadian Chris Herd joining the team to decide which samples to set aside for a possible return mission. Also en route to the Red Planet are the Hope orbiter from the United Arab Emirates and China’s Tianwen-1 orbiter, lander and rover. Read: With the Mars Perseverance launch a trio of spacecraft is headed to Mars
2) Canadian lunar rover? Canada is considering a lunar mission under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. If all goes to plan, a CSA official said during a SatCan presentation in June, Canada will supply a micro rover that would host some sort of United States payload. The rover size and instrumention will depend on NASA requirements as well as the money available within CSA’s $150 million Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP). Read: Canada in negotiations with NASA to send a rover to the moon
1) Canadian tech helps spacecraft touch asteroid: Canadian laser technology helped accurately map asteroid Bennu for a flawless spacecraft touchdown in October. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer scooped a sample of the precious regolith to be returned to Earth in 2023. Such missions allow us to learn more about the nature of the ancient universe, when comets and asteroids were common and the current-day moons and planets were still growing. Read: OSIRIS-REx spacecraft performs flawless touch-and-go maneuver
