Space Exploration Month
October is Space Month! Join us as we connect with some astronauts, scientists and engineers who are exploring our planet, solar system and beyond!
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Join Josh to explore his career path, and his ongoing training for his mission to the International Space Station!!!
Joshua Kutryk is an experimental test pilot with over 4,000 hours of flying experience on more than 40 aircraft types. Prior to joining the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Col Kutryk flew as a developmental pilot for the Royal Canadian Air Force in Cold Lake, Alberta. He has worked on a variety of flight test projects, including out-of-control flying, simulator certification, automated navigation and weapon guidance development. Previously, Col Kutryk served as a CF-18 fighter pilot, flying missions in support of NATO, UN and NORAD commitments around the world. He has been deployed to both Libya and Afghanistan.
Joshua Kutryk was selected as an astronaut candidate by the CSA in July 2017. He completed the two-year Astronaut Candidate Training Program and obtained the official title of astronaut in January 2020. Since then, he has continued to serve Canada’s space program as an active astronaut at NASA. He works in different technical and operational positions, including from Mission Control as a capcom during spacewalks and commercial vehicle proximity operations. In 2023, he was assigned to a mission to the International Space Station, where he will live and work for approximately six months.
Ravi Prakash returns to EBTSOYP with a fascinating talk on how Artificial Intelligence is redefining the boundaries of space exploration. Ravi will guide us through why space exploration is essential for humanity, how AI is revolutionizing our ability to explore space, and thepotential that AI has to reimagine space exploration.
Ravi has been at JPL since 2005 and was part of the team that landed the Curiosity rover on Mars. After taking a break to design products that fight poverty, he returned to JPL to lead operations for the InSight lander on Mars, helped integrate the science instruments for the Psyche mission to an asteroid, and now works on the VERITAS mission to explore Venus. Ravi spends all his free time trying desperately to make his wife and two daughters laugh.
The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in December 2021, has been blowing our minds with beautiful images and incredible discoveries for over 3 years already! Thanks to Webb, we now have the capacity to see farther than ever in our Universe, peer through the cosmic dust sprinkled throughout galaxies, and discover and study new alien worlds. Find out all about how this amazing space telescope, a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, is unveiling cosmic wonders using infrared light.
Nathalie Nguyen-Quoc Ouellette is an astrophysicist, science communicator and lifetime lover of all things space! She obtained her Ph.D. in Physics & Astronomy at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario in 2016. Her research focuses on galaxy formation and evolution, particularly those found in clusters. Nathalie is currently the Deputy Director of the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx) and the Mont-Mégantic Observatory (OMM) at the University of Montréal and is also the Outreach Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope in Canada collaborating with the Canadian Space Agency.
The Curiosity Mars rover has been exploring Gale crater for over thirteen years, piecing together the history of Mars and its potential to support life, if it ever existed. Curiosity’s science team has determined that Mars once had all the conditions necessary to support life: it was a habitable planet. Dr. Vasavada is the lead scientist on the mission and will discuss these discoveries as well as the challenges of robotic exploration of another planet.
Stars. Constellations. Milky Way. Greek Mythology. Indigenous stories about the night sky. Have you ever wondered how the northern lights occur? Did you know that Wood Buffalo National Park is the largest Dark Sky Preserve in the world? What does that mean? Explore the beauty of the dark sky and learn about the constellations and the Indigenous Northern stories that make our Northern sky the most fascinating of all.
Le télescope spatial James Webb, lancé en décembre 2021, nous émerveille avec ses magnifiques images et ses découvertes incroyables depuis plus de 3 ans déjà ! Grâce à lui, nous pouvons désormais voir plus loin que jamais dans l’Univers, scruter la poussière cosmique dispersée dans les galaxies et découvrir et étudier de nouveaux mondes extraterrestres. Découvrez comment cet incroyable télescope spatial, fruit d’une collaboration entre la NASA, l’Agence spatiale européenne et l’Agence spatiale canadienne, dévoile des merveilles cosmiques grâce à la lumière infrarouge.
Nathalie Nguyen-Quoc Ouellette est astrophysicienne, communicatrice scientifique et passionnée de l’espace depuis toujours ! Elle a obtenu son doctorat en physique et astronomie à l’Université Queen’s de Kingston, en Ontario, en 2016. Ses recherches portent sur la formation et l’évolution des galaxies, en particulier celles qui se trouvent dans les amas. Nathalie est actuellement directrice adjointe de l’Institut Trottier de recherche sur les exoplanètes (iREx) et de l’Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic (OMM) à l’Université de Montréal et est également scientifique de vulgarisation pour le télescope spatial James Webb au Canada en collaboration avec l’Agence spatiale canadienne.
Rejoignez Josh pour explorer son parcours professionnel et sa formation continue pour sa mission vers la Station spatiale internationale !!!
Joshua Kutryk est un pilote d’essai cumulant plus de 4000 heures de vol sur plus de 40 types d’avion. Avant de se joindre à l’Agence spatiale canadienne (ASC), le Col Kutryk était pilote d’essai pour l’Aviation royale canadienne à Cold Lake, en Alberta. Il a travaillé sur une variété de projets d’essais, par exemple le pilotage hors contrôle, l’homologation de simulateurs, la navigation automatisée et le développement de systèmes de guidage d’armes. Auparavant, comme pilote de CF-18, le Col Kutryk a effectué des missions pour aider l’OTAN, l’ONU et le NORAD à respecter leurs engagements dans le monde entier. Il est allé en mission en Libye et en Afghanistan.
Joshua Kutryk a été sélectionné comme candidat astronaute en juillet 2017 par l’ASC. Après sa formation de base d’astronaute d’une durée de deux ans, il a obtenu en janvier 2020 le titre officiel d’astronaute. Il travaille depuis à la NASA en qualité d’astronaute de l’ASC. Il occupe différents postes techniques et opérationnels, notamment celui d’agent de liaison capcom au centre de contrôle de mission lors de sorties dans l’espace et de manœuvres d’approche de véhicules spatiaux commerciaux. En 2023, il a été affecté à une mission commerciale à la Station spatiale internationale d’une durée d’environ six mois. Il sera le premier astronaute de l’ASC à prendre part à une mission du Programme des missions habitées commerciales de la NASA.
Nicole has explored from the heights of outer space to the depths of our oceans. A veteran NASA Astronaut, her experience includes two spaceflights and 104 days living and working in space on both the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). A personal highlight of Nicole’s spaceflight was painting the first watercolor in space.
Nicole is also a NASA Aquanaut, who in preparation for spaceflight and along with her NEEMO9 crew, lived and worked during an 18-day and longest saturation mission to date on the Aquarius undersea habitat.
As an Artist, and now retired from NASA, Nicole combines her artwork and spaceflight experience to inspire creative thinking about solutions to our planetary challenges, to raise awareness of the surprising interplay between science and art, and to promote the amazing work being done every day in space to improve life right here on Earth. She is the founder of the Space for Art Foundation.
Dr. Abigail Fraeman is a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Deputy Project Scientist for the Curiosity Mars Rover. She studies the origin and evolution of rocky bodies in our solar system, and has worked on robotic missions to Mars, the moons of Mars, and Earth’s Moon. In this presentation, she will update students with the latest news from the Curiosity Mars rover, explain how the mission’s findings fit into the broader arc of Mars exploration, and share personal stories about how she became involved in space exploration.
Europa Clipper is on its path to Jupiter to explore the icy moon of Europa. Winston Jackson will discuss the mission one year into cruise, outlining its science goals and how the spacecraft is uniquely equipped to study Europa’s atmosphere, geology, and interior. He will also highlight the team’s latest progress and share key milestones for the rest of the mission.
Winston began his career in systems engineering at JPL in 2014. He has supported missions for civil and national security space applications during his time at JPL, including helping to integrate, verify, and validate the science instruments on the Mars Perseverance Rover. Winston was the lead systems engineer for the Europa Clipper science tour mission phase and has served as a flight director and mission operations systems engineer since the mission’s launch in October 2024. He is currently supporting the VERITAS mission to Venus.
Dr. Caitlin Crawford is a Flight Director and Systems Engineer at NASA JPL for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, which will explore Jupiter’s moon Europa. This exciting moon may hide a liquid-water ocean beneath its icy shell. She’ll share what it’s like to help fly a spacecraft to another planet and how missions like Europa Clipper bring us closer to answering one of humanity’s biggest questions: could there be life beyond Earth?
Join Adele Luta as she shares what it takes to gear up explorers to explore the most extreme environments on and off the planet! Adele is a scientist and innovator. She holds BS and MS degrees in physics. She has worked at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Flight Center as a certified Mission Control Center flight controller and astronaut instructor where she supported over 90 spacewalks. Now she works on teams to help humans explore extreme environments through habitats, vehicles, and spacesuits. Her training as a physicist has allowed her to work in many research fields including researching the mind, nuclear physics, and teamwork. She is a seaplane pilot and volunteer coral restoration SCUBA diver. She loves spending time with her husband and dogs.
Cady Coleman is a retired NASA Astronaut and USAF Colonel who flew twice on the Space Shuttle and spent 159 days aboard the International Space Station. A popular public speaker and media consultant, she is also a regular contributor for space exploration news and a Research Affiliate at MIT’s Media Lab.
Cady’s book, Sharing Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change is known for its insights and candid stories. She and her family were featured in PBS’s Space: The Longest Goodbye; and The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station.
An improvisational flute player, she is known for her “Space Duet” with Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson and her work with the Irish band, The Chieftains. From space, she coached Sandra Bullock for her role in “Gravity.”
Cady lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts with her husband, glass artist Josh Simpson. They have two adult sons and two enormous Maine Coon cats, Saber and Max.
Scientists have been speculating on Venus as a habitable world for over half a century, not the scorching surface, but the much cooler atmosphere at 48 to 60 km above the surface. The concept is that Venus’ perpetual cloud cover might host life, as Earth’s clouds do. The Venus clouds, however, are not made of water but are composed of concentrated sulfuric acid—an aggressive chemical that kills Earth life.
Professor Seager will describe recent lab-based experiments that advance the notion that the Venus atmosphere environment may be able to support complex chemicals needed for life. She will describe the Morning Star Missions to Venus that aim to find signs of life or life itself in the Venus clouds. Professor Sara Seager is a Canadian-American astrophysicist and Professor of Physics, Planetary Science, and Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she holds the Class of 1941 Professor Chair. Her research ranges from the foundation of exoplanet atmospheres to innovative theories about life on other worlds to development of novel space mission concepts.
Celebrated NASA astronaut, pilot of the space shuttle Endeavour, and crew member on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, Terry Virts also spent 200 consecutive days in space as commander of the International Space Station—one of the longest continuous space missions of any NASA astronaut. Step back, more than 220 miles from Earth, and experience our planet from a new perspective. Terry helped to install the outpost’s 360-degree observation module, which not only helped him to take more photos than any astronaut before him, but gives those who see the images a deeper understanding of our planet’s beauty, climate, and place in the universe.
Last Year's Lessons
Geneviève leads a team of specialists that supports optical space projects, ranging from Earth observation to space exploration. She was a systems engineer who helped develop Earth observation instruments, including one designed to measure greenhouse gases from space. She led the Arctic observation mission measuring green house gases in northern regions. Geneviève’s favorite part of her job is that it combines her passion for optics with her environmental values.
Chris is a research scientist with the Climate Research Division of Environment and Climate Change Canada. His research activities focus on the use of satellite data and climate models to understand climate change impacts on the Arctic. His main focus is looking at snow cover across the northern hemisphere. He will be the main investigator on a new Canadian-led satellite radar mission focused on snow, in partnership with the Canadian Space Agency. Chris’ favourite part of his job is getting out on the land for field research: he has participated in more than 25 snow and sea ice measurements campaigns across the Canadian Arctic.
Meet Ashwin, he’s a Project Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. What does a project scientist do? They conceive, design, build, test, and fly robotic spacecraft that explore the Earth, the solar system and beyond. Ashwin is the Curiosity Rover’s Project Scientist. The rover has been ascending the foothills of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain that was once laced with lakes and streams that would have provided a rich environment for microbial life. What’s Curiosity up to? How are we exploring the red planet? Was there life on Mars?
Join Ravi to learn all about NASA’s upcoming Europa Clipper mission. This mission is scheduled to launch on October 10th and will conduct detailed reconnaissance of Jupiter’s moon Europa and investigate whether the icy moon could have conditions suitable for life.
Ravi joined JPL in 2005 and was part of the team that landed the Curiosity rover on Mars. After 8 years at JPL, Ravi took a break to design products to help lift people out of poverty. Ravi has since returned to JPL where he led operations of the InSight lander on Mars, helped integrate the science instruments for the Psyche mission to visit an asteroid, and now manages the group that designs the hardware to land spacecraft on different planets.
Aaron is a Mechanical Engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He designs, builds, and tests robotic systems to acquire samples of rocks and soil from other planets so that we can study them for science. He has had roles on the Mars Science Laboratory Rover Mission and the InSight Mars Lander. Currently, he is developing the drill bits that will be used on the Mars 2020 Rover. Aaron is Navajo, originally from a small town near the border of the Navajo Nation. He is passionate about spreading the excitement of STEM to students from his home community and across the nation.
In the seventy years we’ve been exploring space, we’ve filled the sky with thousands of satellites and vastly more chunks of debris and metal. This cloud of material enveloping the earth poses a risk to our future exploration of space, and Connor Humphries will explore what we’re doing to understand and deal with the issue to ensure we can keep adventuring beyond our planet!
Dr. Abigail Fraeman is the deputy project scientist for the Curiosity Mars rover and research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Her research focuses on understanding the origin and evolution rocky bodies across our solar system. In addition to Curiosity, Abigail has worked on the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rover and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions, and she is also involved in developing new instruments and mission concepts for to explore our solar system in the future.
Kennedy Space Center last October on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. It uses electric propulsion ion thrusters to get to its destination, and will study the asteroid from orbit using its magnetometers, gamma ray and neutron spectrometers, and multispectral imagers. It also carries a deep space optical communications payload, which talks to operators on Earth with laser technology.
Star of Sharknado 3 (not really) and robot on Battlebots, engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Bobak is the Fault Protection lead on the NISAR joint Earth observation mission with India at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His prior positions have included Launch, Cruise, Approach Engineering Lead and Flight Director on Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity, Science Planner on the Cassini mission, Flight Software Product Line System Engineer, and Europa Clipper Mission Planner.
Dr. Caitlin Crawford is a Flight-System Systems Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. Her current role is helping the NISAR Earth observation satellite get ready for launch in 2024. Previously, she’s worked as a material scientist researching how to make future Martian rovers, like Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, more powerful. Come talk about spacecraft and how they power themselves through the vastness of our solar system!
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