Welcome to the University of Manitoba,
to those here today and to those watching across Canada.
I’m Digvir Jayas, Vice-President (Research and International) at the University of Manitoba.
I would like to begin by acknowledging that the University of Manitoba campuses
are located on original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples,
and the homeland of the Métis Nation.
We respect the treaties that were made on these territories,
we acknowledge the mis-harms and mistakes of the past,
and we dedicate ourselves to move forward in partnership with Indigenous communities
in a spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.
I would now like to introduce today’s special guest,
Canada’s newest astronaut, Dr. Jenni Sidey,
to share some exciting news with us.
Dr. Sidey was one of the two new astronauts selected by the Canadian Space Agency
in July 2017, through the fourth Canadian astronaut recruitment campaign.
Prior to joining the Canada Space Program,
she worked as an assistant professor with interest in internal combustion in this field,
in the Department of Engineering of the University of Cambridge.
Please give a warm welcome to Dr. Sidey.
All right. Thank you for that kind introduction, Dr. Jayas.
Good day and welcome to everyone.
Before becoming an astronaut, you know I ran a university lab,
so it feels pretty good to be back in school.
I’m thrilled to be at the University of Manitoba for this very special announcement.
Looking around the room, I see the future of Canadian science and exploration.
As a former professor, I know that our universities are hubs for innovation.
They play a critical role in building the future of our country.
Students of today will become the leaders of tomorrow,
and opportunities that prepare students to transition to the job market are crucial,
even more so in the space business.
Building technology that can survive and operate in harsh environments
requires knowledge, ingenuity, guts, and true grit.
Space pushes us to the limits of what is possible,
allowing us to make giant leaps, not just in space but also here on Earth.
What better way to learn about space engineering than to design, build, launch,
and operate your own satellite?
This is why we came up with the Canadian CubeSat Project.
I will now turn to my colleague, European Space Agency astronaut, Thomas Pesquet,
who will give a quick overview from space about what this project is all about.
Welcome aboard the International Space Station.
I am Thomas Pesquet.
And before I became an astronaut, I spent one year in Canada as an exchange student,
so today I am thrilled to announce the challenge for Canadian students
to join the ranks of space explorers.
The Canadian Space Agency is offering you an out-of-this-world opportunity
to design and build, launch, and operate your own satellite.
It will be approximately this size.
The winning teams will develop a satellite called a CubeSat,
to be released into space from right here, the International Space Station.
This is your chance to explore space through a science that interests you.
If you are studying in a Canadian post-secondary institution,
talk to your professors or visit the Canadian Space Agency’s website for more details.
Show us you have the right stuff and take part in the Canadian CubeSat Project. Good luck.
Okay, cool. All right. So I’m thrilled to be here today to announce the teams
from across Canada who will be participating in this new initiative.
The Canadian Space Agency received many excellent proposals for this competition,
and I’m very pleased to announce that we are funding a total of 15 teams
to send satellites to space.
And now here are, from across the country, the winning teams, joining us virtually.
Hey everyone. All right. I’m going to begin with the North.
Representing Yukon Territory, Yukon College.
Hi. Hi, guys. All right.
From the Northwest Territories, the Aurora Research Institute of Aurora College.
Hello.Hey guys.
Moving to the West Coast, in British Columbia, the University of Victoria.
All right? (Laughter) In Alberta, the University of Alberta.
Hello. Hi. In Saskatchewan, the University of Saskatchewan.
Here in Manitoba, the University of Manitoba.
(Applause)
The next two provinces will be represented by more than one team.
In Ontario, York University.
Hi. McMaster University.
Hi. Hi.
And Western University, in partnership with Arctic College in Nunavut.
Hi.
In the province of Quebec we have the University of Sherbrooke.
Hi. Hi.
Concordia University. Concordia!
That’s a pretty good showing.
On the East Coast, we have New Brunswick, the University of New Brunswick.
In Nova Scotia, we have Dalhousie University.
Hi. Hello.
In Prince Edward Island, the University of Prince Edward Island.
Thanks from Prince Edward Island. Hello.
And finally, from Newfoundland, Memorial University.
Hello. Hello.
So please join me in congratulating our winners.
(Applause)
This is an incredibility exciting initiative.
I had an opportunity to look over the summaries of the projects,
and I have to say I’m pretty impressed.
From new tools to monitor the effects of climate change,
to smart agriculture and novel quantum physics applications,
I believe the future of Canadian engineering is incredibly well-represented with these groups.
I’d especially like to congratulate the dedicated professors leading these teams,
as well as industry representatives who are generously offering their support.
Collaboration is an essential part of success when it comes to space.
Our 15 teams will not undertake the challenge alone.
They will have collaborators to support them every step of the way;
people from the Canadian Space industry and from universities and colleges
across the country and abroad.
Over the next two years,
everyone that you’ve met today will collaborate and design, build their CubeSats.
Once tested, and certified space ready, the CubeSats will be launched
and deployed from the International Space Station in 2020 and 2021.
It’s a pretty exciting journey you guys have ahead of you.
So I know most to the teams joining us virtually are also hosting their own events,
so we’ll let you go and spread the good news.
Once again, congratulations to each of you, and good luck.
Now, I’d like to invite our host team to join us onstage to talk about their satellite.
All right.
Do you guys want to introduce yourself quickly?
Sure. So I’m Dr. Philip Ferguson; I’m an Associate Professor
and Industrial Research Chair here at the University of Manitoba,
and we study ways in which we can get new space technology
into space on small satellites.
Okay. I’m Valerie Platero, I am Dr. Ferguson’s Master’s student
and also on the University of Manitoba Satellite Team.
And I’m Matt Driedger, also Dr. Ferguson’s grad student
and also a member of the University of Manitoba Satellite Team.
Great. Well, thanks for joining me.
All right.
Tell us what your project’s about.
All right. So our project takes micrometeorites as known samples that have fallen onto Earth,
and we’re going to send them back into space and see how they change with time.
Okay, cool.
And what are we supposed to be learning from these asteroids and meteorites?
Well, by providing known samples and putting them back into space it’ll help us understand
better what the composition of actual asteroids are.
So applications for space mining, or just learning about the formation of the universe.
Okay, cool.
So I know a couple of people here might be familiar with this
but that was OSIRIS-Rex mission.
How will your data that you’re collecting feed into those OSIRIS-Rex missions?
What should we know about that?
So, basically, our satellite is going to provide a control sample,
so when the OSIRIS-REx mission sees something on the asteroid,
we’ll be able to know better what the actual material is.
Okay. Cool, thanks.
So are you guys excited to have a space mission?
Yeah, very. Definitely, yes. Is this your first space mission, or are you like, pros now?
Yeah, first one to go to space, yeah. All right. Cool, great. Thank you.
So I understand we have a few other collaborators here today.
We do. And so one of the things that makes this program such a success,
as you mentioned, Dr. Sidey, is our collaborators.
So we’re collaborating with York University, the University of Winnipeg, Magellan Aerospace.
We’re also collaborating with a really special team from the Interlake School Division,
and we’d like to invite a couple of them to join us on stage today.
Perfect.
Do you want to get a few people come up?
Come on up. Thank you guys. Hello.
Hello. Do you guys want to introduce yourselves?
Hi. I’m Kalen Ogilvie and I am in Grade 8 in the Interlake School Division.
Okay. Nice to meet you.
I am Reid Border; I am also from the Interlake School Division, in Grade 8.
Okay. Fantastic. Nice to meet you guys.
So you guys are both in the Space Club, right? Yes. Yes. Fantastic. Okay.
Can you tell us which instrument you’re designing and testing on your CubeSat?
We are designing the gnomon for the sundial. Oh, okay, cool.
What’s that going to do?
I’m pretty sure it is going to be doing the ---The directionality of the lights.
Wow. Cool. Okay. So what’s your mission?
What are you trying to find?
We’re trying to find -- sorry. No, that’s okay. (Laughter)
To figure out what way the satellite’s pointing, right? Yeah. Yeah. Cool.
So this is directional? Yes. All right, neat. Very good.
Do you guys have to do any sort of research, special research,
to figure out how to do that?
We are --- How did you do that?
We are currently looking up what sundials look like, what type of numbers
we’re going to be using.
So are we going to be using Roman numerals, 24-hour time,
and then what colours are we going to be using for the directions. Oh, cool.
And you’re doing that in Space Club.
Yes. Awesome. How has Space Club helped you, do you think, get into this project?
Well, we’ve done research, and obviously research for the project itself.
We’ve done design challenges.
We’ve also done coding and robotics. Cool.
Well, we know that robotics is big in the space industry in Canada.
We’re the world leaders in that, so it’s phenomenal you guys are carrying on that.
Absolutely. Well We were all really excited.Yes.
Ecstatic. Me, personally, ran around the gym.
(Laughter)
All of us were pretty happy because we did have that slim chance that we were not going
to be chosen. But we got that chance.
But you were. Yeah. Congratulations. Well, I was telling these guys that
I had the same reaction when I found out I was selected.
Laps around the gym was great.
So well done. That’s why the Canadian Space Agency is such a great organization
because they like doing firsts, and there’s never been a school as young as us from Manitoba
that’s ever gone.
That’s phenomenal. This is really something to be proud of.
Congratulations, guys.
Thank you. Okay. Wonderful.
So thank you so much for sharing your project with us.
And hopeful you’ll be posting updates because I’m going to be following on social media;
I’m sure everyone else will, too.
Thank you everyone for being here today.
I’m going to invite our special guest, the rest of our special guests
from the University of Manitoba,
wherever they went, back on stage, as well as our industry representatives
from Magellan to come for a photo, please.