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 technology and enables students and young researchers to gain hands-on experience in space-like missions. Grants are issued to Canadian post-secondary institutions following a competitive process.
The main objectives of the FAST Announcement of Opportunity (AO) were to:
- Develop and maintain a critical mass of researchers and highly qualified personnel in space-related fields in Canada;
- Increase the level of student employability by giving students practical experience that enables them to acquire space science and technology knowledge and skills sought by the industry and others; and
- Increase scientific knowledge and/or develop new technologies.
The CSA has awarded 36 grants under the FAST AO representing $6.5 million to Canadian post-secondary institutions to advance space science and technology 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: 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.
- 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.
| Cat. | Institution | Grant value | Project | Principal investigator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 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 |
| A | University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario |
$261,656 | Quantum payload radiation impact assessment for GEO and deep-space environments | Dr. Thomas Jennewein |
| A | 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 |
| A | York University Toronto, Ontario |
$300,000 | Martian Atmospheric Gas Evolution experiment (MAGE) | Dr. John E. Moores |
| A | University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario |
$299,989 | A superpressure balloon flight of the SuperBIT telescope | Dr. Calvin Barth Netterfield |
| A | University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario |
$300,000 | CALASET-NG – Advancing a payload for atmospheric infrared laser absorption spectroscopy | Dr. Kaley A. Walker |
| A | École Polytechnique de Montréal Montreal, Quebec |
$299,406 | Multi-robot technologies for planetary exploration | Dr. Giovanni Beltrame |
| A | Université Laval Quebec City, Quebec |
$300,000 | HiCIBaS II – High-Constrast Imaging Balloon System - Adaptive Optics at High Altitude | Dr. Simon Thibault |
| A | 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 |
| A | University of Victoria Victoria, British Columbia |
$300,000 | Flights for Precision Calibration for Dark Energy, Microwave Astronomy, and Atmospheric Physics | Dr. Justin Albert |
| A | 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 |
| A | York University Toronto, Ontario |
$299,970 | Star Tracker Design for Space-based Space Surveillance (SBSS) | Dr. Regina Lee |
| A | 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 |
| A | McGill University Montreal, Quebec |
$300,000 | Unambiguous bio-signature detection platforms for planetary exploration on Mars and the icy moons | Dr. Lyle Whyte |
| A | University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario |
$300,000 | CASSAVA PEARL (Canadian Anchor Sites for Satellite Validation – Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory) | Dr. Kimberly Strong |
| B | Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John's, Newfoundland |
$99,910 | Biosignatures of the Subsurface Accessed through Serpentine Portals (BioSATS) | Dr. Penny Lea Morrill |
| B | Cégep de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke, Quebec |
$96,911 | Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) multi-spectral and multi-angular remote sensing | Dr. Martin Aubé |
| B | University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba |
$100,000 | High-throughput, high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy | Dr. Samar Safi-Harb |
| B | University of Calgary Calgary, Alberta |
$100,000 | Surface-based Canadian microwave Scatterometer measurements (CanScats) during the MOSAiC international Arctic drift expedition | Dr. John Yackel |
| B | University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario |
$99,990 | Determining the mechanism of bone loss in space | Dr. Rene E. Harrison |
| B | 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 |
| B | 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 |
| B | McGill University Montreal, Quebec |
$99,761 | Testing a next-generation satellite high-spectral resolution microwave atmospheric sounder | Dr. Yi Huang |
| B | University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
$100,000 | Advancement and reflight of the Aerosol Limb Imager (ALI) prototype | Dr. Adam E. Bourassa |
| B | York University Toronto, Ontario |
$99,550 | Isotopically Sensitive Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (ISLIBS) | Dr. Michael Daly |
| B | University of Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario |
$100,000 | The unloaded body: blood indicators of deconditioning | Dr. Odette Laneuville |
| B | 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 |
| B | Concordia University Montreal, Quebec |
$33,220 | Reduced gravity flights to study lunar wheel-soil interactions | Dr. Krzysztof Skonieczny |
| B | Ryerson University Toronto, Ontario |
$100,000 | Formation flying for multi-static CubeSAR | Dr. Anton de Ruiter |
| B | 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 |
| B | University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta |
$91,850 | 3D printing of metal and biomaterials using freeze casting in reduced gravity | Dr. Prashant R. Waghmare |
| B | University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario |
$100,000 | Enhancing Canada's role in scientific validation of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane | Dr. Debra Wunch |
| B | Western University London, Ontario |
$100,000 | Selecting the extrasolar Earth analogues most amenable to atmospheric characterization | Dr. Stanimir Metchev |
| B | University of Sherbrooke Sherbrooke, Quebec |
$99,990 | T-MARS: Terrestrial Mineral Analysis by Remote Sensing | Dr. Myriam Lemelin |
| B | Université du 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 |
| B | Western University London, Ontario |
$99,990 | IMPACT: Impact Cratering Research and Training Program | Dr. Gordon Osinski |
Explore further
- About the FAST funding initiative
- Funding programs and opportunities
- Resources for the scientific community
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