Training in geology

Mission

• Practise geologic fieldwork in a unique Moon-like topography
• Refine spacewalking techniques, test geological tools and navigate lunar-like landscapes in low-angle lighting similar to conditions that astronauts on the Moon will experience

CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen and his Artemis II crewmates, including Canadian backup Jenni Gibbons and NASA backup Andre Douglas, took part in lunar geology training in Akureyri and Vatnajökull National Park's remote northern region, in Iceland. This area sits between 395 and 490 metres above sea level and is mostly an uninhabitable volcanic desert. With over 30 active volcanic regions, Iceland was specifically chosen for its icy soils resembling those anticipated on the Moon's south pole.

Mission

• Practise geology in a meteorite impact crater, the Moon's most common landform
• Define the best instruments and techniques for geology work on the lunar surface
• Sample a rock called anorthosite, which is rare on Earth but abundant on the Moon

CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen and his NASA crewmate Christina Koch, both Mission Specialists on the upcoming Artemis II mission, take part in geology training in northern Labrador with CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons.

This meteorite impact crater, one of 31 in Canada, is a crucial training ground as we return humans to the Moon, because it's the best representation we have on Earth of what astronauts will find there.

Mission

• Practise geologic fieldwork with a realistic training ground for the lunar surface
• Learn how to identify the best rock samples to bring home from future missions
• Handle a rock called anorthosite, which is rare on Earth but common on the Moon

On this two-week expedition in northern Labrador, the astronauts and geologists visited a 28‑kilometre diameter impact crater formed 36 million years ago, when an asteroid crashed into Earth.
The astronauts hiked along its steep ledge, collecting rock samples and practising their geology skills. Future Moon explorers will be required to choose the best rock samples to bring back with them, to maximize the scientific return back on Earth.

Mission:

• Learn methods and techniques for conducting geological fieldwork that can be applied to future space missions, for example to Mars or other planets
• Help researchers develop better predictive models used to make projections of glacier response to climate change
• Act as expedition medical officer
• Enhance his expedition-related skills

During this two-week expedition, David assisted the Simon Fraser University Glaciology Group, led by researcher Gwenn Flowers, in the study of the interaction of glaciers and freshwater bodies.

Ice is present elsewhere in the universe. It is now known that the planet Mars has polar ice caps and that other planets in the solar system are orbited by moons with frozen water.

Therefore, there is a link between terrestrial and planetary exploration!

Mission:

• Confirm the origin of the crater
• Conduct geological reconnaissance studies
• Participate in studying the geology of the island and the impact rocks
• Get an introduction to instruments used on planetary exploration missions

Under the CSA's Science and Operational Applications Research (SOAR) program, the team developed new tools and techniques for using RADARSAT-2 images to:

• improve geological mapping
• promote land use management
• assist resource exploration in the Canadian Arctic

Mission:

• Study the processes related to the formation of impact craters
• Learn methods and techniques for conducting geological fieldwork that can be applied to future space missions, for example to the Moon or an asteroid

David and the research team studied West Clearwater Lake, since the geological structure of East Clearwater Lake is submerged. These two annular lakes were formed by meteorite impacts in the distant past.

Mission:

• Accompany the research team studying impact cratering processes
• Study the Haughton crater
• Learn methods and techniques for conducting geological fieldwork that could be applied to future space missions, for example to the Moon or an asteroid

This extremely remote and uninhabited island in Baffin Bay, Nunavut, features one of the best exposed and preserved impact craters on the planet.

The island's isolation presents many challenges: the team had to be flown to the site and had to manage with very limitedsupplies and support.

On Earth, evidence of the existence of impact craters is continually being erased by plate tectonics, volcanism and erosion.

Nevertheless, about 180 impact craters have been documented to date, 30 of them in Canada.