Western Space

NASA tests scientific instruments in Arizona crater ahead of moon landing attempt NASA wants to land Artemis astronauts on the moon in 2027, but the scientific instruments they'll bring must be tested on Earth. The best place to do that is a mile-wide meteorite crater in Arizona.

Link to article: www.npr.org/2025/07/17/n...

two scientists stand infront of an impact crater with equipment in the foreground.

How can you study impact craters like an astronaut? It's easier than you may think. Planetary science prof @planetneish.bsky.social + her grad students recently conducted analogue studies at Meteor Crater to assess the feasibility of in-situ tools that will be used by astronauts.

Learn more below:

www.cnn.com/2025/07/25/s...

Artists representation of a grey asteroid 2024 YR4 floating through the dark starry universe

The asteroid 2024 YR4, studied by scientists for its likelihood of impacting earth in 2032, is now predicted to have a greater chance of hitting the Moon.

@westernu.ca prof Paul Wiegert spoke to CNN about the significance of this once in a 5,000 year event.

Learn more below:

📢 #WesternU instructors,

Did you know that you can give students free & easy access to your Course Readings? Our service is one way you can help alleviate rising costs & provide more equitable access to higher education.

Find out more 👇
lib.uwo.ca/coursereadin...

image of space and space craft decorate the hallway outside of the mission control facility

Sarah Gallagher, director of Western Space took @spaceqmedia.bsky.social through mission control's diverse functionality and discussed current and future plans for the facility.

Read the full article below: spaceq.ca/mission-cont...

The Perseid Meteor Shower is getting started tonight! While it peaks in mid-August, it is one of the best meteor showers all year ☄️

The meteors are visible streaking from the Perseus Constellation region of the sky, and originate from the 109P/Swift-Tuttle comet.

Western celebrates 5 Vanier Scholars, 2 Banting Fellows - Western News Western is celebrating its five newest Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship recipients, two new Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship recipients and their research.

I am so happy and proud of my PhD student Ananya Srivastava who has been awarded an uber prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship 😀🎉

@westernu.ca @westernuspace.bsky.social

news.westernu.ca/2025/07/vani...

Super excited for my #PhD student Simona Ruso who is defending her thesis today on the characterization of subglacial channels on Earth & Mars 😀

@westernuspace.bsky.social @westernu.ca

Congratulations to @westernu.ca PhD Geology student Ananya Srivastava for being selected as one of the recipients of the prestigious 2025 Vanier Graduate Scholarships! 🚀

Learn more: news.westernu.ca/2025/07/vani...

On June 20th, some of the Skylark CubeSat team visited the Gr. 6 students at the Eva Circe-Cote French Immersion Public School in St. Thomas! The students got to learn all about cubesats designed & built at Western University. Thank you to the ECC FIPS School for hosting them!

@westernu.ca

Western Space launches new Mission Control Facility Western Space's new Mission Control Facility is a hub for taking ‘dreaming to doing’. The new facility will propel the next generation of space research.

We are proud to celebrate the official launch of the Western Space Mission Control Facility!

This facility provides a multifaceted workspace for analogue missions + remote imagery planning sessions to support interdisciplinary space research objectives.

news.westernu.ca/2025/06/west...

The Western Skylark Western University, in vibrant London, Ontario, delivers an academic and student experience second to none.

This design competition was open to grade 6-12 students in southwestern Ontario, and gave them an opportunity to design the official mission patch for the Skylark cubesat launching in June 2026.

Learn more about Skylark: space.uwo.ca/research/Mis...

After nearly 50 entries and much deliberation, we are pleased to announce the winner of the Western Skylark cubesat mission patch design competition - Manel Mihalj!

Thank you the all those who participated! Check out the patch and the inspiration for the design below.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Marc Garneau, the first Canadian in space.

He represented determination, perseverance, and curiosity that inspired many young Canadians and aspiring astronauts around the world.

We at Western Space send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

We are pleased to be represented by @westernuspace.bsky.social Research Officer, @epilles.bsky.social at the upcoming Space Canada Horizons event. He will be highlighting ongoing research initiatives on multi-modal methane emission monitoring taking place at
Western University.

space-horizons.ca

Thanks to all our academic presenters and students who shared their work at Space Day 2025! From exploring impact craters on earth, to wearable mechatronic systems, to studying how black holes form, we enjoyed hearing all about their engaging and interdisciplinary research.

@westernu.bsky.social

Space Day 2025 was a great success!

We'd like to extend special thanks to our keynote speaker @weinersmith.bsky.social, and our panelists @aerospacewriter.bsky.social, @katehowells.bsky.social, and Helen Gregory for their participation in our Art and Space-themed Space Day!

@westernu.bsky.social

It was our absolute pleasure!

Enjoying a great talk - the keynote for @westernuspace.bsky.social Space Day -
by Dr Kelly @weinersmith.bsky.social on the fascinating book “A City on Mars”

I'm giving a talk about A City on Mars tonight as part of @westernuspace.bsky.social 's Space Day 2025 in London, Ontario! And there is a panel on the intersection of art and space exploration earlier in the day.

You can register here:

space.uwo.ca/events/space...

Learn more about space day: space.uwo.ca/events/space...

Register for the keynote: www.westernconnect.ca/site/Calenda...

@aerospacewriter.bsky.social @weinersmith.bsky.social @westernu.bsky.social @katehowells.bsky.social

We are 1 week away from Space Day 2025! 🚀

We are joined this year by an incredible array of authors, scientists, artists, curators, and more to explore the intersection of art & space! From our panel to our keynote, we are looking forward to this exciting event.

Learn more about the event below!

I will be on a panel next Wednesday as part of #SpaceDay2025 hosted by @westernuspace.bsky.social. We will be discussing this year's Space Day theme of "Exploring the Intersection of Art and Space". The evening keynote speaker is @weinersmith.bsky.social Hugo Award winning author of A CITY ON MARS.

Learn more at the link: space.uwo.ca/events/space...

@katehowells.bsky.social
@aerospacewriter.bsky.social
@westernu.bsky.social

We are excited to announce our panelists for Space Day 2025! 🌎

This year's panel will focus on "Exploring the relationship of art & pop culture with space exploration." Our panelists include writers, curators, scientists, & artists who will bring their diverse perspectives to the event!

RECAP & Western Space Event: Earth Observation of Vegetation Canada’s vast forests and agricultural lands are critical for biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and economic stability. With growing threats from deforestation, climate change, wildfires, and land d...

Learn more about the event here: space.uwo.ca/blog/2025/re...

Happy Earth Day from Western Space 🌱

We at Western Space celebrate, support, and promote scientific earth and space-based research. This includes our recent RECAP event that was focused on how we can use Earth Observation data to support solutions to vegetation problems.

Learn more below!

We are excited to announce our Keynote Speaker for Space Day 2025: Dr. Kelly Weinersmith! 🚀

Dr. Weinersmith will give a talk on “A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?”

Learn more here: space.uwo.ca/events/space...

Join us on May 7th for our annual Space Day!

This year's theme is Exploring the Intersection of Art + Space, + we will hear from a variety of fascinating authors, scientists, curators + more in this field! Stay tuned for more info 🚀

Learn more + RSVP here: space.uwo.ca/events/space...