Canadian Space Exploration ​ ​

“Through these ongoing activities and possibly in the future, a Canadian will go live and work on the ​ International Space Station and we will continue to make proud of our achievements in space.” -

When it comes to exploring the vast and spacious unknown of outer space, Canadians have made advanced progress that has changed our view on space forever. Countless Canadian discoveries and achievements have altered and shaped our idea of life since the 1800’s. Many of these have been advanced technological inventions and builds, marking Canada on the map as the “International Robot Builder.” The amount of hard working Candians on Earth and in space who have, and continue to ​ dedicate themselves to this career has been momentous. This leads us to only guess what pivotal accomplishments Canadian’s will fabricate in the years to come. Canadians have made an immense impact on Space Exploration, making countless discoveries and achievements, creating technological advancements, contributing many great astronomers, astrophysicists, and into the field, and showing substantial potential for making even greater future discoveries.

Over centuries, Candians have made crucial milestones leading us to where we are today. The first countable discovery from Canada was in 1839 when Sir Edwin Sabine established the first Magnetic Observatory in , authenticating the idea of Northern Magnetism. This was a great beginning for Candians in space. “NASA was looking for partners and Canada's past reputation led them to from Toronto.''(Chuck Black, 2019). In 1959, Canada built the Alouette Satellite, making them the third country in space. In 1969, the Communications Research Center was founded. This organization made boundless progress, assisting the Satellite build, forming the Candian and U.S. Churchill launchsite in Manitoba, and later forging with the D.F.B and National Research Center of Canada. In this time, Canada’s first ever rocket was launched at the Churchill launch site. Canada was on a roll as larger organizations such as Russia’s Intersputnik and the China National Space Administration started to take notice in Canada’s leading achievements. In 1998, the International Space Station was launched, later to be home to the Canadarm2, Canadarm3 and the Dexter, 3 of Canada’s remote manipulator arms. In 2013, the Canadarm2 and Dexter made its appearance on the Candian 5 dollar bill and has marked these candian Innovations down in history. Canadians have marked themselves on the map, not only from their integral revelations, but also their technological craftsmanship.

Canada as a nation has made significant technological advancements for the world. After the build of the first Alouette Satellite, Canada earned its name “International Robot Builder.” This reputation proved useful when NASA was building the International Space Station (ISS), and looking for international partners. A deal was struck in 1975 between the two organizations. The Shuttle Remote Manipulator, later known as the Candarm, made itś debut on the ISS in 1981 and made crucial accomplishments in the world of space. “The both launched and fixed the Hubble Space Telescope ''(John Melady, Candians in Space, 2009). The second and third arms, the Canadarm2 and Canadarm 3, both costing over 600 million dollars, have both been designed with artificial intelligence and have no attached ends, allowing them to crawl along the ISS. The two have worked alongside the Dexter, a smaller Candian built space arm, for over 19 years now and have performed various cosmic catches, helping visiting vehicles into the ISS. Canada's Technological inventions have changed Space Exploration as we know it, marking Canada on the map and opening many doors for Candians in the Astrophysics Career field.

Canada’s life changing inventions, discoveries and achievements have cleared a path for Canadians in the field, but it hasn't always been so easy. Astronomers and astrophysicists such as David Dunlap worked their way up with countless hours of hardwork and perseverance. David established the David Dunlap Telescope in Toronto 1935, which still stands the largest in the country. The observatory made monumental discoveries, including the detection of the first ever signs of the mega-blackhole, Cygnus X-1. This was a pivotal moment for Candians in space, opening up opportunities for many in the years to come. The first team of astronauts was formed in 1983 consisting of 6 carefully selected members, , Marc Garneau, Steve MacLean, , and . The team was formed after a proposal from NASA for Canadian astronauts to fly aboard the Challenger as backup payload specialists, Ken Money, Marc Garneau, Steve MacLean, Bjarni Tryggvason, Robert Thirsk and Roberta Bondar. It wasn't until the Challenger’s second mission in 1984 when Marc Garneau flew as the first Candian in space. Roberta Bondar later became the first Canadian woman in space in 1992 as a crew member on the space shuttle Discovery. The second team was launched by the , this time with eight members, Marc Garneau, Chris Hadfeild, Steve MacLean, Bjarni Tryggvason, Dave Williams and Robert Thirsk. These two teams provided a significant level of expertise in their fields, cementing Canada's place in space with NASA. “Candians ​ have flown a total of 17 missions, the third highest globally, following the U.S. and Russia.”(Lydia Dotto, ​ 2020). Many of these milestones would not have been possible without great Canadian astronomers and astrophysicists such as Andrew McKellar who found the first evidence of cosmic radiation from the Big Bang, and Bruce McIntosh, a member of the National Research Center of Canada who studies asteroids and meteors. These hard working Candians have changed our idea of Canadians in space and continue to inspire others to this day.

Today’s version of Canadian Space Exploration has significantly changed after years of discoveries and accomplishments such as the discovery of Cygnus X-1, a mystery still being uncovered today. Through a long process of watching the pull of surrounding stars, evidence of what at the time was only a theory, was detected in 1972. This massive discovery to this day, is altering our perspective of gravity, spacetime, and the formation of galaxies. In March of 2012, groups of Candian students from across the country have embarked in the Radi-N2 experiment, a project to detect background radiation using Bubble Detectors. These students have been in contact with David Saint-Jacque and Chris Hadfeild on the International Space Shuttle. The inspiring missions of former Canadians have greatly influenced the younger generations as many are beginning to get involved with projects such as the Radi-N2, along with the Mars Trying to see the invisible is a very hard task, but that is exactly what the David Dunlap Observatory did.2020 Search for Signs of Life, with Chris Herd as the official scientist on the mission, and the hunt for extrasolar planets. The first extrasolar planet was discovered in 1995 by watching the gravitational pulls on the stars and flickers in the star’s light. Candians like Gordon Walker and Bruce Cambell first came up with the technique for modern planet hunting, and by 2019, over 4000 extrasolar stars have been detected.

The inestimable of Canada’s historical space achievements, technical developments, appreciable individuals in the astro career field, and even current and planned future projects that Canada has to offer have permanently marked us on the map. Canadian discoveries and inventions have been the building blocks for the world of Space Exploration, introducing a few of the fundamental astronomical concepts. A vast majority of these were technological innovations, earning Canada the well known title, “International Robot Builder.” This title, let alone the many later projects such as the Canadarm2 and Canadarm3, opened up various opportunities for astronauts and scientists in the field. These Canadians have been offered a position in numerous organizations, made life changing discoveries and have even been offered to work with NASA. As Canadian’s in the field continue to inspire younger generations, to this day, Canada proceeds to develop new and effective devices. Canada's rich background of advancing accomplishments have set in stone our position as we continue to explore space. As this profession is gradually showing more and more potential for being our global future, we can only hope and wonder where Canada will take us next.

Bibliography

Melady, John “Canadians in Space” Pages 43, 89, 51 Published Toronto Ontario, 2009

Brown, Craig The Illustrated History of Canada

Belvis, B.C. “Space Technology” The Candian Encyclopedia

Paragraphs 1 ,2, 9 Published 2012

Corelli, Rae “Space Travel Challenges” The Canadian Encyclopedia

Paragraphs 5,6,7,8 Published 2003

Dotto, Lydia “Canadian Space Agency” The Candian Encyclopedia

Paragraphs 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14 Published 2006

Rosano, Micheal ‘Timeline of the Canadian Space Agency” Canadian Geographic

Paragraphs 1, 4, 5,6 ,7 Published 2014