Grants awarded under the FAST 2019 Announcement of Opportunity
Funding for space research and development, with a focus on training the next generation of experts
Through its Flights and Fieldwork for the Advancement of Science and Technology (FAST) funding initiative, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) supports the development of space science and technologies and enables students and young researchers to gain hands-on experience in space-like missions. Grants are issued to Canadian post-secondary institutions (colleges and universities) following a competitive process.
The FAST Announcement of Opportunity (AO) main objectives were to:
- Develop and maintain a critical mass of researchers and highly qualified personnel (HQPs) in space-related areas in Canada;
- Increase the level of student employability by exposing them to practical experiences that enable them to acquire space science and technology knowledge and skills sought by, among others, the industry;
- Increase scientific knowledge and/or develop new technologies.
In , following the FAST AO, the CSA awarded 40 grants totalling $ 7.7M to Canadian post-secondary institutions to advance space science and technologies while training the next generation of space experts. A description of the supported projects and their respective funding amounts are presented below under two funding categories:
- Category A – End-to-end space-like mission projects; and
- Category B – Small space-related research projects.
Category A – End-to-end space-like mission projects
The institutions listed below were awarded grants of up to $300,000 for end-to-end space-like mission projects that include technology development, use of the technology during a flight or a field deployment, and data collection and analysis. These projects are expected to last up to three years.
| Institution | Grant value | Project | Principal investigator |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of New Brunswick Fredericton, New Brunswick |
$299,793 | Development of a low-power, active high frequency (HF) system intended for pairing Arctic and space-based measurements | Dr. Jayachandran Thayyil |
| University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario |
$261,656 | Quantum payload radiation impact assessment for GEO and deep-space environments | Dr. Thomas Jennewein |
| Simon Fraser University Burnaby, British Columbia |
$299,420 | Soil and Snow: Aerial Truthing of Enhanced Radar Backscatter Inversion for the Arctic (SATERBIA) | Dr. Bernhard Rabus |
| York University Toronto, Ontario |
$300,000 | Martian Atmospheric Gas Evolution experiment (MAGE) | Dr. John E. Moores |
| University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario |
$299,989 | A superpressure balloon flight of the SuperBIT telescope | Dr. Calvin Barth Netterfield |
| University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario |
$300,000 | CALASET-NG – Advancing a payload for atmospheric infrared laser absorption spectroscopy | Dr. Kaley A. Walker |
| École Polytechnique de Montréal Montreal, Quebec |
$299,406 | Multi-robot technologies for planetary exploration | Dr. Giovanni Beltrame |
| Université Laval Quebec City, Quebec |
$300,000 | HiCIBaS II – High-Constrast Imaging Balloon System - Adaptive Optics at High Altitude | Dr. Simon Thibault |
| University of New Brunswick Fredericton, New Brunswick |
$300,000 | Novel technology to increase the spatial resolution of WaterSat hyper-spectral imaging by 10 times and simulated flight to validate the spatial and spectral fidelity | Dr. Yun Zhang |
| University of Victoria Victoria, British Columbia |
$300,000 | Flights for Precision Calibration for Dark Energy, Microwave Astronomy, and Atmospheric Physics | Dr. Justin Albert |
| York University Toronto, Ontario |
$299,750 | Development and Performance Validation of a Miniature Imaging Fabry-Perot Spectrometer (MIFPS) Through Stratospheric Balloon Flight | Dr. Jinjun Shan |
| York University Toronto, Ontario |
$299,970 | Star Tracker Design for Space-based Space Surveillance (SBSS) | Dr. Regina Lee |
| York University Toronto, Ontario |
$300,000 | AI-Enhanced Track and Capture of Resident Space Objects by Free-Flying Spaceborne Robotic Manipulators | Dr. Zheng Hong Zhu |
| University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario |
$300,000 | CASSAVA PEARL (Canadian Anchor Sites for Satellite Validation – Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory) | Dr. Kimberly Strong |
| McGill University Montreal, Quebec |
$300,000 | Unambiguous bio-signature detection platforms for planetary exploration on Mars and the icy moons | Dr. Lyle Whyte |
| Université du Québec à Rimouski Rimouski, Quebec |
$299,750 | Hyperspectral assessment of marine algae and their importance for blue-carbon sequestration using the WaterSat Imaging Spectrometer Experiment (WISE) | Dr. Simon Bélanger |
| McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario |
$299,645 | Development of a small scale Raman/LIF system for organic detection and characterization during space mission deployment | Dr. Greg Slater |
| University of Western Ontario London, Ontario |
$300,000 | Developing and Testing a Miniaturized In situ XRD for Mineralogical Characterization of Planetary Surfaces | Dr. Roberta Flemming |
| University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario |
$300,000 | Estimating terrestrial snow mass using multi-frequency airborne SAR observations - towards a space-based snow observing system | Dr. Richard Kelly |
Category B – Small space-related research projects
The institutions listed below were awarded grants of up to $100,000 for small space-related research projects. These projects are expected to last two to three years.
| Institution | Grant value | Project | Principal investigator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John's, Newfoundland |
$99,910 | Biosignatures of the Subsurface Accessed through Serpentine Portals (BioSATS) | Dr. Penny Lea Morrill |
| Cégep de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke, Quebec |
$96,911 | Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) multi-spectral and multi-angular remote sensing | Dr. Martin Aubé |
| University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba |
$100,000 | High-throughput, high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy | Dr. Samar Safi-Harb |
| University of Calgary Calgary, Alberta |
$100,000 | Surface-based Canadian microwave Scatterometer measurements (CanScats) during the MOSAiC international Arctic drift expedition | Dr. John Yackel |
| University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario |
$99,990 | Determining the mechanism of bone loss in space | Dr. Rene E. Harrison |
| Université du Québec à Montréal Montreal, Quebec |
$100,000 | Multi-site data acquisition and analysis in support of TICFIRE adaptation to NASA's A-CCP satellite mission program | Dr. Jean-Pierre Blanchet |
| McGill University Montreal, Quebec |
$100,000 | Assessment of regolith abrasive wear resistance of base materials and protective coatings in simulated planetary environments | Dr. Richard Raymond Chromik |
| McGill University Montreal, Quebec |
$99,761 | Testing a next-generation satellite high-spectral resolution microwave atmospheric sounder | Dr. Yi Huang |
| University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
$100,000 | Advancement and reflight of the Aerosol Limb Imager (ALI) prototype | Dr. Adam E. Bourassa |
| York University Toronto, Ontario |
$99,550 | Isotopically Sensitive Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (ISLIBS) | Dr. Michael Daly |
| University of Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario |
$100,000 | The unloaded body: blood indicators of deconditioning | Dr. Odette Laneuville |
| Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre Montreal, Quebec |
$99,990 | A cell-by-cell track structure and genomic examination of the DNA damage caused by low- and high-LET ionizing | Dr. John Kildea |
| Concordia University Montreal, Quebec |
$33,220 | Reduced gravity flights to study lunar wheel-soil interactions | Dr. Krzysztof Skonieczny |
| Ryerson University Toronto, Ontario |
$100,000 | Formation flying for multi-static CubeSAR | Dr. Anton de Ruiter |
| University of Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario |
$99,963 | Earth observation for detecting and monitoring long-term water quality changes across the Canadian Arctic | Dr. Anders Jensen Knudby |
| University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta |
$91,850 | 3D printing of metal and biomaterials using freeze casting in reduced gravity | Dr. Prashant R. Waghmare |
| University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario |
$100,000 | Enhancing Canada's role in scientific validation of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane | Dr. Debra Wunch |
| Western University London, Ontario |
$100,000 | Selecting the extrasolar Earth analogues most amenable to atmospheric characterization | Dr. Stanimir Metchev |
| University of Sherbrooke Sherbrooke, Quebec |
$99,990 | T-MARS: Terrestrial Mineral Analysis by Remote Sensing | Dr. Myriam Lemelin |
| Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières, Quebec |
$100,000 | Development of new microwave multi-sensor freeze/thaw data products over North America | Dr. Alexandre Roy |
| University of Western University London, Ontario |
$99,990 | IMPACT: Impact Cratering Research and Training Program | Dr. Gordon Osinski |