Lassonde research team selected by NASA to provide support to the Curiosity mission

Lassonde Professor John Moores and his research team have been selected by NASA to provide scientific and operations support to the Mars Science Laboratory Mission (Curiosity). The team is comprised of Moores, MSc student Jake Kloos, Postdoctoral Fellow Christina Smith and PhD Student Casey Moore. The Lassonde team will be part of the mission through […]

Former astronaut will talk about 'My Brain in Space'

Former astronaut Dave Williams, president and CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre, will talk about how his brain handled the weightlessness of outer space at the upcoming joint York Neuroscience - Centre for Vision Research seminar. The talk, “My Brain in Space”, will take place, Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 4pm at 519 York Research Tower , Keele campus. […]

York space scientists reflect on the last flight of Atlantis, the end of NASA’s space shuttle program and what the future holds

York University’s Department of Earth & Space Science and Engineering in the Faculty of Science & Engineering has a long history with NASA’s shuttle program. A new video highlights significant milestones in this history and includes reflections from a number of the University’s space scientists. Here are Professor Emeritus of Space Science Gordon Shepherd, Professor of […]

When do we stop looking for life on Mars? Professor Jack McConnell on the MATMOS project

Will we ever be able to say there is nothing alive on Mars? asked Stephen Strauss in a column for CBC News online Oct. 8: Exactly how do we decide when it's time to end the focus on our planetary neighbour and turn our primary exploratory efforts elsewhere? I ask in part because a casual reader […]

Lab technologist brings little pieces of Mars to York, promotes space research

Nick Balaskas is on a mission. He wants to set a world record for the number of people who have walked on Mars. Although technically he would need only one person to achieve his goal, Balaskas has set his sights on 500 – a round number he developed based on the total number of individuals […]

North York Mirror covers York's involvement in 2016 Mars mission to search for life

York University researchers will take part in a mission probing Mars’ atmosphere for methane sources in an effort to find evidence of life on the planet, wrote the North York Mirror Aug. 24: Researchers from the Faculty of Science & Engineering will be part of a team of Canadian scientists responsible for a device that […]

York researchers to develop atmospheric modelling instruments for 2016 Mars mission

York University researchers will participate in a mission probing the atmosphere of Mars for sources of methane, part of the ongoing search for evidence of life on the red planet. Researchers from the Faculty of Science & Engineering will be part of a team of Canadian scientists responsible for a device that will measure and […]

Paul Delaney on Canadian aerospace industry's future growth in age of privatized space travel

A controversial decision by Barack Obama to privatize the exploration of space could be a blessing for Canada’s aerospace industry, say experts in the field, who argue that this country’s space agency and its associated industries are in a prime position to hitch their wagon to the US president’s initiative on a ride toward the […]

York students place second in international 2010 University Mars Rover Challenge

York University has a great track record in designing instruments, satellites and other devices for space exploration. This year, York students compeated in the fourth annual University  Rover Challenge, which designs and builds the next generation of Mars rovers. The teams faced off in Utah's Mars Desert Research Station. Last year, York won the competition. […]

Snow-discovering spacecraft finally bites the Martian dust

The Phoenix is dead and this time it won’t rise again. On May 24, NASA released photos of the Mars Phoenix lander that finally ended even the faintest hope that the York-designed weather instruments on board the spacecraft would come to life again. The photos show that the lander’s solar panels appear to have collapsed […]