Table of Contents

Science

43^rd Meeting of the Space Environment Subcommittee of the Space and Atmospheric Environment Advisory Committee

7-8 January 2009
Canadian Space Agency,
Saint-Hubert, Québec

Summary

The committee heard updates from the CSA, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and the following universities: University of New Brunswick, Université de Montréal, Queen's University, University of Waterloo, University of Western Ontario, University of Saskatchewan, Athabasca University, University of Alberta, and University of Calgary (missing were updates from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Royal Military College of Canada, and York University.)

The CSA President discussed the government of Canada's Long-Term Space Plan (LTSP). The development of the LTSP is being led by the CSA in consultation with nine other government departments. The LTSP will focus on three elements: using space to serve Canadians through support to the mandates of other government departments, positioning Canada as a key partner in future Global Exploration initiatives, and building capacity within Canada to be able to fully deliver on the first two themes. Once the LTSP becomes publicly available, the CSA expects to organize a workshop focussing on the LTSP.

The Director General of Space Science described changes being made to the CSA's Grants and Contributions program. The program is being updated to reflect the fact that much of the work done by universities would be better supported through contributions instead of contracts. The CSA is also considering a number of new programs: a supplement program similar to the NSERC Discovery Grant Accelerator Supplement and a CSA Chair program along the lines of the CRC Tier II Chairs, for example.

The committee discussed the Solar-Terrestrial Sciences in Canada report prepared following the 2005 Space Environment Workshop (SEW). The committee agreed that the report would serve as a valuable input into the 2009 SEW. The CSA suggested that the community consider writing a report that makes high-level statements that mesh well with government and CSA mandates and priorities; a roadmap with well-defined goalposts would be very helpful. The committee formed a subcommittee that will draft a plan for the upcoming SEW (22 February 2009).

The committee heard reports on several upcoming and current projects: Polar Communications and Weather (PCW) mission; Outer Radiation Belt Injection, Transport, Acceleration and Loss Satellite (ORBITALS); recent sounding rocket missions; Swarm mission; Enhanced Polar Outflow Probe (e-POP); Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) mission; Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR); and Canadian GeoSpace Monitoring (CGSM).

Action: The Chair is to inform the community of the possibility that a secondary science payload may be added to the PCW satellites.

Action: The committee is to form a subcommittee that will draft a SEW strawman document. The Chair is to inform the community of the committee's preparations for the workshop.

Action: The committee is to direct comments and suggestions regarding the upcoming CGSM Science Meeting to the meeting chair, Jonathan Rae, CCing John Manuel.

Action: Thayyil Jayachandran is to set up a Listserve-style mailing list for the community. John Manuel is to provide Jay with his list of email addresses once the mailing list is ready.