Science satellites

Characteristics: Canadian satellite, active

Launched on September 29, 2013, CASSIOPE observes the phenomena of space weather. It was integrated into the European Space Agency's Swarm constellation. The onboard ePOP probe observes Earth's ionosphere. The satellite and probe are owned by the company MDA. The European Space Agency now funds operations, but the satellite is operated by the University of Calgary.

ePOP has eight instruments that collect data on:

• the impact of solar storms
• their effects on radio communications, satellite navigation, and other space- and ground-based technologies

Discover CASSIOPE

Characteristics: Canadian satellite, active

Launched on February 25, 2013, NEOSSat is the first satellite used to detect asteroids and satellites close to Earth. It is a collaboration between Defence Research and Development Canada and the CSA. NEOSSat scans space in search of:

• satellites
• space debris
• near-Earth asteroids and comets

It also collects data on planets orbiting distant stars.

Discover NEOSSat

Characteristics: Canadian elements, active

Launched on September 8, 2016, NASA's OSIRIS-REx marks Canada's first participation in a sample-return mission. The Canadian lidar was used to scan the asteroid Bennu's surface to create 3D maps in order to select the sample site.

The mission objectives are to:

• map the asteroid
• document the sample site
• determine the characteristics of the asteroid's orbit
• compare observations with those made using telescopes
• collect and analyze a sample from Bennu

Discover OSIRIS-REx

Characteristics: Canadian elements, active

The European Space Agency's Proba-2 microsatellite was launched on November 2, 2009. The satellite is used to:

• observe the Sun
• study space weather phenomena

Discover Proba-2

Characteristics: Canadian instrument and elements, active

Launched on November 22, 2013, the European Space Agency's Swarm mission is a constellation of Earth observation satellites. When it was launched, it comprised three identical satellites, but since March 2018, the CASSIOPE satellite has been part of the mission. The Swarm mission measures the magnetic fields generated by various elements of Earth:

• core
• mantle
• crust
• oceans
• ionosphere
• magnetosphere

Discover Swarm

Characteristics: Canadian elements, active

Launched on February 17, 2007, THEMIS is a constellation of five NASA satellites whose objective is to gain a better understanding of what causes aurora. In 2010, two of the satellites were taken to create the ARTEMIS mission and moved elsewhere in space to study the same phenomena near the Moon. Specialists compare satellite data with data collected by ground stations in the Arctic Circle.

In order to study aurora, the satellites are equipped with:

• electric detectors
• magnetic detectors
• particle detectors

Discover THEMIS/ARTEMIS

Characteristics: Canadian satellites, inactive

These science satellites for monitoring the ionosphere from space were launched in 1962 and 1965. Thus, Canada became the first country, after the Soviet Union and the United States, to design, build, and put into orbit an artificial satellite.

These spacecraft were very reliable thanks to brand new technologies:

• the transistor
• the solar cell

Discover Alouette I and II

Characteristics: Canadian elements, inactive

The European Space Agency's space observatory was launched on May 14, 2009. It made over 35,000 observations and logged more than 25,000 hours of studying the universe. It had three instruments:

• the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI)
• the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE)
• the Photometric Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS)

Discover Herschel

Characteristics: Canadian satellites, inactive

Launched in 1969 and 1971, Canada's ISIS satellites were used to study the ionosphere and the aurora borealis. The satellites had:

• a set of direct measurement experiments
• a tape recorder to store data

Discover ISIS I and II