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Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan are building instruments that will be used on upcoming NASA-led satellite missions.
Published June 17, 2024 • 3 min read
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University of Saskatchewan researcher/PhD student Daniel Letros (right) is part of a team developing two advanced imaging instruments that will be sent into orbit as part of a NASA-led satellite mission in 2031 to better study Earth's atmosphere. Photo by Michelle Berg/Saskatoon StarPhoenix
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Work is continuing at the University of Saskatchewan on two ultra-sophisticated instruments that are scheduled to be launched into orbit as part of a NASA satellite mission early next decade.
Professors Doug Degenstein and Adam Bourassa, from the University of Saskatchewan's Departments of Physics and Engineering Physics, are leading a research team across 14 Canadian universities for the High Altitude Aerosols, Water Vapor and Clouds (HAWC) satellite mission, a Canadian Space Agency contribution to the NASA-led Atmospheric Observing System.
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At the University of Saskatchewan, two instruments called ALI (Aerosol Limb Imager) and SHOW (Spatial Heterodyne Observation of Water) have been developed over a decade.
Degenstein said both are essentially “very sophisticated cameras” that will help improve models used to predict weather and air quality and study climate change.
Bourassa and a team of researchers and students guided reporters through the lab on Monday, explaining along the way how information instruments gather beyond the light spectrum visible to the human eye to detect the presence of aerosols in the atmosphere.
These tiny airborne particles affect cloud development and weather, and can come from dust, wildfires, volcanoes, human industry, and more.
University of Saskatchewan Professor Doug Degenstein speaks at a provincial funding announcement for the University of Saskatchewan-led HAWC (High Altitude Aerosols, Water Vapor and Clouds) program. Photo by Michelle Berg/Saskatoon StarPhoenix
The instrument itself looks like an unassuming box, but it has been refined through multiple prototypes to be sensitive enough to gather the data scientists need, and rugged enough to be carried on a balloon or a NASA high-altitude aircraft, all with an eye toward being loaded onto a rocket scheduled for 2031.
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“The technology is mature and the science is ready,” Degenstein said, adding that the instruments are reliable enough for now that the team's biggest challenge remains interpreting the data they collect and figuring out how to most effectively use it.
The instrument is expected to operate for at least five years once in orbit, but Degenstein said he was optimistic it would last much longer than that, noting that previous missions have seen instruments operate for 10 or even 20 years.
Degenstein said the HAWC project will raise Saskatchewan's profile in recruiting, training and retaining top talent in so-called “Space 2.0.”
Using the example of the Starlink network of satellites that provide internet, Degenstein said Space 2.0 will be marked by a shift from government-led “megaprojects” in space to cheaper collaboration between researchers, industry and government to develop systems and technologies.
The CSA provided approximately $200 million for the HAWC project.
Jeremy Harrison, provincial minister responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan, announced $600,000 in provincial funding over the next three years through the ministry's Innovation and Science Fund.
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“At the end of the day, this is going to mean more jobs, more opportunity, more investment and a really good outcome for the people of Saskatchewan,” he said.
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Harrison has barely commented on the parliamentary controversy as the NDP calls for an investigation.
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