A mission such as Inukshuk must have international involvement if it is to succeed. While Canada is a world leader in many aspects of space science and technology, some of the necessary expertise resides outside the country. The mission science team includes the following individuals:
Inukshuk Science Team |
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U. of Winnipeg |
Mission Principle Investigator. |
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U. Of Manitoba |
Co-investigator. |
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Cornell University |
Coinvestigator. |
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Brown University |
Coinvestigator. |
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U. of Toronto |
Coinvestigator: |
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Inukshuk Payload Team |
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MDA Space Missions |
P.I. for Mars Rover and Driller Robotics |
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MPB Communications Inc. |
P.I. for Miniaturized instrumentation. Skycam Aerostat. |
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INUKSHUK SCIENCE TEAM
Dr. Edward Cloutis, University of Winnipeg. Ed is the Science Leader for the Inukshuk mission. He has over 20 years of experience in planetary remote sensing. His facility at the University of Winnipeg is equipped with unique Mars environment simulation chambers, dubbed “ME” and “mini-ME” (for Mars Environment). These chambers allow his team to reproduce the surface conditions of Mars, including atmospheric pressure and composition, ultraviolet irradiation, and temperature. These chambers are used extensively to monitor the survival of rocks and minerals and organic materials under simulated Mars surface conditions. Ed is also Director of HOSERLab (Hyperspectral Optical Sensing for Extraterrestrial Reconnaissance Laboratory). HOSERLab supports research on the use of optical spectroscopy for uniquely identifying different rocks and minerals and organic molecules. As the Inukshuk lander will be equipped with optical spectrometers, HOSERLab provides a unique capability to determine how these instruments will perform on the surface of Mars. Ed is also active in investigating Mars analogue sites in Canada, including the East German Creek site in west-central Manitoba.
Dr. Kathleen Londry, University of Manitoba. Kathleen is the Biology Science Lead on the Inukshuk mission. Kathleen is an Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba who studies environmental microbiology and biogeochemistry. Microbial activities play a key role in biogeochemical cycling of elements, and are critical in both natural and applied settings. Her research involves assessing microbial communities in various aquatic and soil environments, particularly the functions of the anaerobic and chemolithoautotrophic microbes. Kathleen probes the diversity and activities of microbes in these environments, and measures their contribution to biogeochemical cycling of sulfur, nitrogen, metals, and carbon compounds. She uses ecological approaches to apply the activities of microbial communities for the mitigation of environmental pollution. Kathleen particularly enjoys studying microbes in extreme environments, and their ramifications for the field of astrobiology.
Dr. James Bell III, Cornell University. Jim Bell is a member of the Inukshuk Science Team. He is an Associate Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University in Ithaca NY and is the lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit and Opportunity "Pancam" instruments. His scientific interests are in the composition, mineralogy, and geochemical evolution of the surfaces of Mars, the Moon, asteroids, and comets, using data from telescopes, space missions, laboratory analog measurements, and field experience. Jim has been a NASA Participating Scientist or instrument science team Co-Investigator in the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous, Mars Pathfinder, CONTOUR, Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and 2009 Mars Science Laboratory rover missions.
Dr. John Mustard, Brown University. Jack is also a member of the Inukshuk Science Team and is a Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University. His Mars-based research seeks to understand the processes that modify and shape the surface of Mars through the study of surface composition and surface processes using remotely sensed data. He is particularly interested in the role of water in the evolution of mineralogy and morphology and its implications for habitability. He is a NASA liaison scientist to the French OMEGA experiment on the European Mars Express spacecraft in orbit around Mars and is also a co-investigator on the CRISM experiment in orbit on the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. He is currently the Chair of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG).
Dr. Kimberly Strong (Department of Physics, University of Toronto) is a Professor of Physics who has research experience in remote sounding of atmospheric composition from ground-based, balloon-borne, and satellite instruments. She has worked on laboratory spectroscopy of methane in
support of the Galileo mission to Jupiter, is PI for the MANTRA balloon project, is Co-I on the OSIRIS and ACE satellite missions and the CANDAC/PEARL initiative, and runs the University of Toronto Atmospheric Observatory, which includes both UV-visible and Fourier transform infrared spectrometers. She is interested in the development of instrumentation for measuring trace gas concentrations to study the chemistry and climate of the Martian atmosphere.
Dr. Nadeem Ghafoor, Manager, MDA Planetary Exploration is the Rover PI. He has previous extensive experience on space systems with Surrey Satellite Tech. and Astrium. He has been project manager for two Mars instrument studies (Bore-hole Gamma Ray Spectrometer and Microscopic Imager). He has also previously worked on the Esa Huygens Probe mission in respect of the instrument design and the spacecraft mission analysis.
Dr. R.V. Kruzelecky, a Senior Research Scientist and project manager at MPB Communications Inc, is the project.manager for the prePhase A Inukshuk Mars mission study and the lead scientist for the mission instruments and innovative Skycam aerostat. Dr. Kruzelecky holds the patent for MPBC’s IOSPEC Technologies for miniature high-performance IR spectrometers (US patent# 7,034,935 B1). Dr. Roman Kruzelecky is an expert in solid state physics, opto-electronics, MEMS and microphotonic technologies, and in materials science. He is currently project manager and lead investigator for the MPBC/Xiphos/CSA/ESA Fiber-optic Demonstrator (FSD) for ESA’s Proba-2. This is scheduled for launch in 2007 and will be the first demonstration of a multichannel fiber-optic system and fiber-laser in space. Dr. Kruzelecky is also the project manager and instrument PI for the development of the MEOS Micro Earth Observation Satellite for CSA in collaboration with Environment Canada, Univ. of Waterloo, U. of Winnipeg and Natural Resources Canada. As the IOSPEC product manager and chief scientist, he has been involved in all aspects of the instrument design including the optical system, detector array electronics, and more recently, the development of the advanced active smart signal processing. Current interests include technologies for microsats (MEOS) and rovers (Inukshuk), smart thin-film coatings for space and aerospace applications, miniature integrated optical spectrometers (IOSPEC), optical fiber sensors (Fiber Sensor Demonstartor on ESA’s Proba-2) and Integrated Optical Micromachines. Dr. Kruzelecky holds two patents, has two invited chapters, including one on miniature IR spectrometers in the Handbook of Vibrational Spectroscopy, and is coauthor of “Applied Microphotonics”, by CRC Press: Taylor&Francis.
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