2023 CASCA Awards: Call for Nominations

By Vincent Hénault-Brunet (CASCA Awards Committee)
(Cassiopeia – Winter 2022)

Dear CASCA members,

We are now accepting nominations for the following 2023 CASCA awards:

Nominations for the Plaskett medal should be submitted by the department chair, and we will accept one nomination per department. This award allows the research excellence and hard work of our graduate members to be recognized. Students, don’t wait, take this email to your advisor/head of department and ask to be considered for your department’s nomination. Graduate chairs, please don’t miss this opportunity to highlight the work of your students.

We would like to have a diverse group of award nominees to choose from, so we especially encourage first-time nominators. Detailed instructions for how to write a nomination letter are listed here.  Can you think of someone at your institution or in your research collaborations who perhaps has been overlooked for awards because of biases? Consider nominating them this year!

Nominations for all awards should be submitted as a single pdf, addressed to the Chair of the CASCA Awards committee, Vincent Hénault-Brunet, and emailed to vincent.henault@smu.ca. Nominators and nominees must be CASCA members in good standing. If in doubt, please check with the CASCA administrator at casca@casca.ca. The deadline for nominations is January 15th, 2023. Please refer to the relevant CASCA award pages for additional nomination procedures.

We look forward to hearing from you, and to celebrating another year of great achievements from our fellow CASCA members!

Best wishes,

The CASCA Awards committee

Vincent Hénault-Brunet, Pauline Barmby, Jayanne English, Craig Heinke, Tracy Webb

CRAQ Summer School Announcement

By Frédérique Baron
(Cassiopeia – Winter 2022)

The Centre for Research in Astrophysics of Quebec (CRAQ) is announcing its annual Summer School, which will be held on June 20-22, 2023 in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

This year’s topic will focus on space astronomy. This 3-day school will introduce the status of current Canadian capacity in Space Astronomy across the electromagnetic spectrum, how to access and use various facilities as well as classes on mission development and operations.

The CRAQ Summer School is principally aimed at graduate students in the field of physics, astronomy, and astrophysics, although students who have completed an undergraduate program in physics will also be considered. There is no registration fee. However, we cannot offer traveling funds or cover lodging expenses.

Additional information about the program, registration and accommodation will be available soon on this site: craq-astro.ca/summerschool.

Email contact: frederique.baron@umontreal

Canadian Gemini News

By Eric Steinbring (Canadian Gemini Office, NRC Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Centre) with contributions from Stéphanie Côté
(Cassiopeia – Winter 2022)

Growth in the CGO and at Gemini

After 15 years of strong, dedicated leadership of the CGO, Stéphanie Côté has passed the baton, and stepped down in the role of Group Leader. I will now take on this role, and thank Stéphanie for her years of faithful guidance and oversight. She will remain in the CGO, and together with Tim Davidge and Joel Roediger, we are now joined by a new member of the CGO team: Wes Fraser. Wes brings deep expertise in planetary science and the Kuiper Belt, and is involved in coordinating participation in the Vera Rubin Observatory and its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). We all look forward to helping Canadian astronomers get the most from Canada’s premier optical/near-infrared facilities. Gemini Observatory itself is hiring; both tenure-track Scientific Staff and Science Fellow positions, along with a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position, especially intended for that indivdual to have the opportunity to engage in meaningful diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) activities. Please see the latest job advertisements for details and the closing dates.

DARP Progress

Semester 2023A was the third semester for which it was requested in Canada to write the proposals anonymously following the Dual-Anonymous Review Process (DARP). Over each of these three semesters the success rates of women PI proposals has been higher than men PI proposals, which had never happened in the previous 6 years that we had monitored this. The difference in success rates between women and men PI proposals is becoming smaller, which is what you might expect, with the goal that these rates oscillate around zero eventually.

It is most important for Canadians to become familiar with these DARP guidelines as many other astronomical facilities have implemented similar requirements for their observing proposals (NASA, ALMA, ESO amongst others), and might reject a DARP non-compliant proposal.

We were pleased to see that the great majority of Gemini proposals for 2023A successfully followed the DARP guidelines, however we still received 6 proposals that did not (= 19% of proposals). Those proposals had made an effort to follow DARP but had one minor slip. This minor slip always happened in the same context, which was when referring to some of their previous observations, or other related accepted programs. Here we remind you again on how to write DARP-approved texts in these situations:

  • Do not refer to previous observing programs at any observatories in an identifying fashion, including past Gemini programs. Replace “We have observe this galaxy in our previous 2023A program”, instead say “GN-2023A-Q33 observed this galaxy previously”, without taking ownership for the program, ie: never say “Our GN-2023A-Q33 program”.
  • Same goes if your targets are selected by one of your past or ongoing surveys on another facility or are Target-of-Opportunity targets to be triggered by data from another of your programs. Replace “Our targets were selected from our 1.45 micron WIRCAM imaging survey of this star-forming region from our program 21BC08”, say instead “Our targets were selected by the 1.45 micron WIRCAM imaging survey of this star-forming region from program 21BC08”.
  • And same goes if you need to refer to an accepted proposal at another facility for which you have not yet received data. Replace “These data will complement our NIRSPec data from our accepted JWST program 1686 PI=Smith”, say simply “These data will complement the NIRSpec data to be acquired by JWST program 1686”. Do not take ownership of the program.

In all these cases when it is written anonymously in this way it does not make it obvious if you are the PI or Co-I of this other previous/future program, or have an arrangement with a co-I to get the data, or maybe are simply ready to scavenge the archives when the data are made public.

Please make sure to consult the ‘DARP guidelines’ page for your future Gemini proposals, and feel free to consult with us (CGO at Gemini@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca) before the deadline in case of doubt or questions.

New Instrument, New Opportunities

The Gemini High-resolution Optical SpecTrograph (GHOST) is now on sky at Gemini South, and is completing its commissioning phase. This is a next step, following along a well-honed track of Canadian expertise in high-resolution optical spectroscopy, a prior one being Gemini Remote Access to CFHT ESPaDOnS Spectrograph (GRACES) at Gemini North. GRACES is also fibre-fed, running to that Canada France Hawaii Telescope instrument. Just this year a Gemini press release has highlighted a stream of old stars detected, via GRACES, at the edge of the Galaxy as a “shredded” star cluster: C-19. From that press release: “GRACES provided the critical clues that C-19 is a disrupted globular cluster and not the more common disrupted dwarf galaxy,” explained Kim Venn of the University of Victoria, the lead investigator for the GRACES observations. “We already knew that this was a very metal-poor stream, but identifying it as a globular cluster required the precision metallicities and detailed chemical abundances only available with high-resolution spectra.”

Got a big, new idea? Gemini is calling for letters of intent for Large and Long Proposals, to begin in semester 2023B. Letters are due by 13 February 2023. The deadline for full proposals will be 1 April 2023. See the official Call for Proposals for more information, including all the available instrument resources here. Don’t forget Fast Turnaround! The next deadline will be at noon Hawai’i Standard Time on 31 December 2022; in the South you can ask for GMOS-S (Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph) and F2 (Flamingos 2), available for most of this coming cycle, while IGRINS (Immersion Grating INfrared Spectroph) and Zorro (speckle imaging) are expected to be available for at least part of that time. The latest news on Gemini North, which had been in regular maintenance shutdown since 10 October, but then offline longer due to an incident during mirror maintenance, is that the Observatory expects to complete repairs in January. It should return to nighttime operations sometime in late February; the 2023A semester programs have been planned out to adjust for that.

Update on Canadian Initiative for Radio Astronomy Data Analysis (CIRADA)

By Bryan Gaensler (U. Toronto, CIRADA Director)
(Cassiopeia – Winter 2022)

The Canadian Initiative for Radio Astronomy Data Analysis (CIRADA) is producing science-ready public data products for large surveys being conducted with three telescopes: the Very Large Array (VLA), the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), and the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). These products (e.g., images, cubes, time series spectra, catalogues, databases, alerts, pipeline algorithms, and software tools) utilize Canadian Advanced Network for Astronomical Research (CANFAR) services and are searchable and usable by professional astronomers and the public through the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC). CIRADA also serves as a pilot project for Canada’s planned Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Regional Centre.

Recent updates on CIRADA’s products and services include:

  1. The first catalogue release for the VCSS Epoch 1 Bright Source Catalogue. VCSS is the VLA Low-band Ionosphere and Transient Experiment (VLITE) Commensal Sky Survey, a set of commensal 340-MHz observations performed at the same time as VLASS 2-4 GHz observations. The VCSS Epoch 1 Bright Source Catalogue comprises 52,844 components catalogued above 50 sigma. VLITE is a 340-MHz commensal instrument that operates during nearly all 1-50 GHz observations on the NRAO VLA. Data are recorded on up to 18 VLITE antennas, correlated, and transferred to the US Naval Research Laboratory for automated pipeline processing and archiving. A special VLITE correlator mode was enabled on VLITE to allow the processing of on-the-fly data associated with VLASS.
     
  2. The WALLABY (Widefield ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind survey) pilot phase data release 1 (PDR1) occurred on November 15th, 2022. WALLABY is an ongoing all-sky untargeted HI survey utilizing ASKAP. Pilot observations of the Hydra, Norma, and NGC 4636 fields have now been completed. Please click here to access CIRADA’s WALLABY PDR1 data portal, which provides links and documentation relevant for these pilot data. You can also read the details of the release through the following publications:

     

  3. The WKAPP (WALLABY Kinematic Analysis Proto-Pipeline) is the set of scripts used to generate the WALLABY PDR1 kinematic models. It utilizes both the FAT and the 3D-Barolo kinematic fitting codes, the CIRADA-developed MCGSuite mock cube generator code, and a set of custom scripts to generate the final set of kinematic models. The software is now available at the WKAPP GitHub repository.
     
  4. Enhancements to the CIRADA Image Cutout Provider, which allows users to quickly extract cutouts from multiple surveys at specified positions and to download associated FITS files. the data for further analysis. The RACS survey was recently added for users to check. The Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS) has now been added to the list of available surveys. In addition, we now offer an enhanced cutout command line tool, for those wishing to script cutout extraction or to make large numbers of requests. A new docker image is also available, containing a tar file of the docker image and associated instructions.

Additional VLASS products are coming soon:

  • VLASS Epoch 2 Quick Look Catalogue
  • Epoch 2 Single Epoch Catalogue for around 1000 square degrees
  • updated version of the Epoch 1 Quick Look Catalogue for VLASS.

Each catalogue will consist of three tables: a Component Table, a Host ID Table, and a Subtitle Information Table that provides metadata on the quick-look images used to produce the catalogue. The single epoch catalogue also contains information about the spectral indices for the identified components. An enhanced Catalogue User Guide with a complete description of the catalogue production, data models and known data quality issues will accompany these catalogues.

Additional features coming soon for the Image Cutout Provider is AP functionality and the addition of VLASS Epoch 2 Single Epoch data.

For more information about CIRADA and our services, software tools and data products, please visit cirada.ca.

Cassiopeia Newsletter – Autumnal Equinox / equinoxe d’automne 2022

fall

In this issue:

President’s Message
BRITE-Constellation Mission Update
Update on CASTOR
CATAC Update on the Thirty Meter Telescope
ngVLA Update
Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Update
Dissertation: The Role of Nonideal Magnetohydrodynamic Effects, Gravitational Instability, and Episodic Accretion in Star-Formation


Editor: Joanne Rosvick

Cassiopeia is CASCA’s quarterly Newsletter, published on or near the solstices and equinoxes (March 21, June 21, September 21 and December 21). To submit a contribution please email cassiopeia.editors@gmail.com. All submissions must be received by the specified due date to be published in the next edition. I accept plain text and Word documents. Note that the formatting of your document will not be preserved. Please include any images as attachments in your email, not embedded in the text. Please include URLs in parentheses next to the word or phrase that you wish to act as link anchors.

Cassiopeia est le bulletin d’information de la CASCA, publié quatre fois par année, aux solstices et aux équinoxes (21 mars, 21 juin, 21 septembre et 21 décembre). Pour soumettre un article, écrivez à cassiopeia.editors@gmail.com. Toutes les soumissions doivent être reçues avant la date limite spécifiée pour être publiées dans la prochaine édition. J’accepte les fichiers en format texte (ascii) et Word. Veuillez noter que la mise-en-page de votre document ne sera pas conservée. Veuillez faire parvenir vos images en pièces jointes à votre courriel plutôt que de les insérer dans votre article. Pour les liens à des sites internets, veuillez inclure l’adresse entre parenthèses à côté du mot ou de la phrase devant servir d’ancre.


Dissertation: The Role of Nonideal Magnetohydrodynamic Effects, Gravitational Instability, and Episodic Accretion in Star-Formation

(Cassiopeia – Autumn 2022)


by Dr. Indrani Das
Thesis defended on July 25, 2022
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Western University
Thesis advisor: Prof. Shantanu Basu

Link to the Electronic thesis: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/8728/

Abstract
My dissertation focuses on the effect of magnetic fields on disk and core evolution during star-formation. We investigate the fragmentation scales of gravitational instability of a rotationally-supported self-gravitating protostellar disk using linear perturbation analysis in the presence of two nonideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects: Ohmic dissipation and ambipolar diffusion. Our results show that molecular clouds exhibit a preferred lengthscale for collapse that depends on mass-to-flux ratio, magnetic diffusivities, and the Toomre-Q parameter. In addition, the influence of the magnetic field on the preferred mass for collapse leads to a modified threshold for the fragmentation mass, as opposed to a Jeans mass, that might lead to giant planet formation in the early embedded phase. Furthermore, we apply the nonideal MHD threshold for fragmentation scales to fit the data of prestellar core lifetimes and as well as the number of enclosed cores formed in a clump, as found with the observations of Herschel and Submillimeter Array (SMA), respectively. Our results show that the trend found in the observed lifetime and fragmentation mass cannot be explained in a purely hydrodynamic scenario. Our best-fit model exhibits B ~ n0.43, which signifies a means to indirectly infer the effect of the ambipolar diffusion on mildly supercritical dense regions of molecular clouds. We also develop a semi-analytic formalism of episodic mass accretion (therefore episodic luminosity) from a disk to star, which provides a good match to the observed luminosity distribution of protostars. In contrast, neither a constant nor a time-dependent but smoothly varying mass accretion rate is able to do so. Our analytic work provides insight into global MHD simulations of protoplanetary disks that we carry out using the FEOSAD numerical code. Our numerical results demonstrate the long-term evolution of disks, including the formation and evolution of clumps, and especially the episodic nature of accretion, which might explain the origin of observed knots in the molecular jet outflows.

Keywords: ISM: clouds – magnetic fields – magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) – stars: formation, gravitational collapse, disk evolution: episodic accretion, young stellar objects (YSOs)

Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Update

By Kristine Spekkens (Canadian SKA Science Director) and the AACS
(Cassiopeia – Autumn 2022)

Artist’s impression of the SKA, combining elements from South Africa and Australia from left to right in the image. Photos of real hardware have been blended with realizations of the future SKA antennas. Image credit: SKA Observatory.

The SKA Observatory (SKAO) is now 15 months into the construction phase of SKA Phase 1 (=SKA1), with the staged construction plan anticipating the first correlated SKA1-Low stations and SKA1-Mid dishes in 2024, the first data from scientifically competitive arrays in 2026, and science readiness reviews of completed arrays underway by 2028.  Forty-one contracts for a total commitment of over 150 million euros have now been awarded, with a focus on the components and subsystems needed for the initial integration phases for SKA1-Mid and SKA1-Low as well as on the development of software infrastructure for telescope management and delivery. Full production contracts for the major infrastructure components are expected to be secured by the end of 2022, with mitigation plans being implemented to navigate exceptional global challenges including inflation, shipping costs/times, labour shortages and component availability.

The SKAO’s mission is “to build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to transform our understanding of the Universe, and deliver benefits to society through global collaboration and innovation”. The broader impacts of the SKA are structured around the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and include building partnerships with Indigenous and local communities at the remote sites where the dishes and antennas will be located. In Australia, an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) with the Wajarri Yamaji, on whose traditional lands SKA1-Low will be located, provides ongoing consent for the Murchison Radio Observatory (MRO) where ASKAP and the MWA currently operate. The completion of a new SKA1-Low-specific ILUA – the outcome of years of negotiations – is expected by the end of this year. In South Africa, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with representatives of the San people, whose early ancestors walked the land on which SKA1-Mid will be located, was signed to protect and promote San culture and heritage. An MOU is also in place with Agri-SA, many of whose members own farms which border or will host SKA1-Mid antennas. NRC, SKAO, and LCRIC are organising a webinar this fall to provide CASCA members with additional information regarding the ongoing process of respectful engagement with Indigenous peoples and local communities on which the SKAO will continue to build across the lifetime of the project.

Canada is currently an Observer of the SKAO Council that governs the project. A cooperation agreement between NRC and the SKAO allows Canada’s scientific and engineering communities to continue participating in the SKA through March 2023, while longer-term SKAO membership is given full consideration by the federal government. Work under the cooperation agreement is fully funded and proceeding on schedule, with the Canadian correlator team from NRC and industry partner MDA on track to provide the backends to support the initial four-dish Array Assembly (= AA0.5) and the subsequent 8-dish Array Assembly (= AA1) for SKA1-Mid. A prototype system integration facility has been set up at MDA, with a compute cluster installed and digitizer and correlator hardware to be delivered in mid-September.  A Critical Design Review for the SKA1-Mid Single Pixel Feed and Receiver was held July 5-7, resulting in a conditional pass to proceed with construction of the Band 1 & 2 design pending the implementation of the recommendations generated by the review panel.

In order to maintain our leading role in SKA1-Mid correlator work, a commitment to construction and operations beyond the cooperation agreement will soon be required from our government. Bilateral meetings between NRC and SKAO held over the summer discussed a broad range of topics related to fulfilling the LPR2020 recommendation regarding Canadian participation in SKA1. These meetings have provided the ministries and agencies involved in the file with the most detailed, up-to-date information available to aid our government in its decision on long-term participation in the SKA.

New Eyes on the Universe, an international conference that will highlight the complementarity and synergies between the SKA and the ngVLA, will be held in Vancouver the week of April 30, 2023. The meeting will explore the science opportunities enabled by the unprecedented combined frequency coverage, sensitivity and resolution of the ngVLA and the SKA.  Plenary talks will feature the areas of greatest synergy between the two observatories, while contributed talks will focus on topics that highlight each facility’s strengths. Additional details regarding the conference as well as opportunities to participate will be circulated to CASCA members as they become available.

For more information and updates on Canada and the SKA:

ngVLA Update

By Erik Rosolowsky (U Alberta), Joan Wrobel (NRAO)
(Cassiopeia – Autumn 2022)

More details on all items may be found here.

ngVLA Key Science Goal 1: Unveiling the Formation of Solar System Analogues on Terrestrial Scales. Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF

New Eyes on the Universe: SKA & ngVLA Conference

The SKA and the ngVLA are pleased to announce a landmark radio astronomy science conference designed to highlight the complementarity and synergies between these premier radio observatories of the 21st century. To be held in Vancouver, Canada the week of 30 April 2023, this conference will review, discuss, and extend the cutting-edge science opportunities enabled by the unprecedented SKA-ngVLA coverage across three decades of radio frequency (50 MHz to 116 GHz).

ngVLA Special Session: Chemical Probes of Astrophysical Systems

The NRAO and the ngVLA will convene a Special Session titled “Chemical Probes of Astrophysical Systems” at the January 2023 American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle, WA. Invited presentations by Eliza Kempton (UMD), Brett McGuire (MIT), David Meier (NMT), Stefanie Milam (GSFC), Dominique Segura-Cox (MPE), and Kamber Schwarz (MPIA) will be featured. Contributed iPoster presentations on any ngVLA theme are welcomed.

ngVLA Site Selection Begins in Mexico

In September 2022, the NRAO began supporting a Mexican astronomer’s work to select and develop antenna sites in northern Mexico for the ngVLA.

ngVLA Completes Its Technical Conceptual Design Review

The ngVLA successfully completed its Technical Conceptual Design Review in July 2022. This verifies that the technical design is likely to meet all the performance-driving requirements. This successful milestone sets the stage for the Programmatic Conceptual Design Review, to be run in March 2023 by the US National Science Foundation.

Computational Astrophysics in the ngVLA Era: Synergistic Simulations, Theory, and Observations

Held in June 2022 at the Simons Foundation’s Flatiron Institute in Manhattan, New York, USA, this conference brought together 80+ theoreticians, modellers, and observers. Their 50+ presentations dealt with the computational astrophysics and observational challenges for the next generation of observatories, with a focus on the ngVLA.

VLA/VLBA to ngVLA Transition Advisory Group (TAG)

This group will determine how to transition operations between the currently operating VLA/VLBA to the ngVLA during construction process. TAG membership, including Stefi Baum (Manitoba), was announced in May 2022. The TAG will develop, quantitatively assess, and evaluate a set of possible transition options that can be prioritized on their scientific promise, cost, and technical/personnel impacts. It is anticipated that the TAG’s final report will be delivered by mid-2023 to the NRAO and the US National Science Foundation.

CATAC Update on the Thirty Meter Telescope

By / par Michael Balogh (CATAC Chair)
(Cassiopeia – Autumn / l’automne 2022)

Site Update

On July 7, with Act 255 the Governor of the State of Hawai’i signed bill HB2024 into law, establishing a new Authority responsible for managing Mauna Kea lands. The Authority will include 11 voting members, including: a lineal descendent of a practitioner of Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices associated with Mauna Kea; an individual who is a recognized practitioner of Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices; and a representative who shall be appointed by the governor from a list of three names submitted by Maunakea Observatories. The process to appoint these members is underway. There will be a transition period of up to five years, during which time no new leases or subleases can be renewed or issued.

Partnership Update

On July 16, the National Science Foundation (NSF) issued a notice of intent to proceed with the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Section 106 processes. Four scoping meetings were held on the Big Island, to receive feedback on the process. Both written and oral testimony was provided to the visiting panel. More information about this process can be found here. You are invited and welcome to provide feedback on both the environmental review and the Draft Community Engagement Plan, via links on that site. An Environmental Assessment will also be made for the alternative site, at La Palma in the Canary Islands.

The Project is preparing for the NSF’s Preliminary Design Review, anticipated for the end of this year. This will be a comprehensive review of the whole US-ELTP project (TMT, GMT and NOIRLab), including governance and operations. A final site decision will not be required by the time of this review. If successful, the PDR will be followed by a Final Design Review (FDR) about a year later.

CATAC Membership

Michael Balogh (University of Waterloo), Chair, mbalogh@uwaterloo.ca
Bob Abraham (University of Toronto; TIO SAC)
Stefi Baum (University of Manitoba)
Laura Ferrarese (NRC)
Harvey Richer (UBC)
Kim Venn (University of Victoria)
Luc Simard (Director General of NRC-HAA, non-voting, ex-officio)
Don Brooks (Executive Director of ACURA, non-voting, ex-officio)
Christine Wilson (CASCA President, non-voting, ex-officio)
Stan Metchev (TIO SAC, non-voting, ex-officio)
Tim Davidge (TIO SAC Canadian co-chair; NRC, observer)
Greg Fahlman (NRC, observer)

Update on CASTOR

By John Hutchings, Patrick Côté (NRC Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Centre)
(Cassiopeia – Autumn 2022)

CASTOR continues to make progress on several fronts. The following list summarizes activities since the last e-CASS report in June.

  1. The ongoing work towards a collaboration with India featured a meeting between CSA and ISRO in July. Enthusiasm for the collaboration was expressed on both sides, and schedules exchanged. The next formal step awaits a meeting of the ISRO advisory committee APEX this month to formalize the joint mission. In the meantime, the Canadian and Indian teams continue to work on a common design and science plan.
  2. The UK Space Agency has issued an Announcement of Opportunity to fund bilateral missions of interest that specifically include CSA, and a proposal to fund CASTOR scientific and technical work is in preparation now. This is a timely step towards the UK participation that has been in discussion for some years.
  3. CSA will attend at International Astronautical Congress meeting in Paris later this month, where bilateral discussions are planned with these and other potential partners (NASA/JPL, ESA) for CASTOR. In addition, CASTOR will be on the agenda for regular CSA meetings with NASA.
  4. The ongoing CSA technical and phase 0 contracts continue to make progress. The work on acquiring, doping and coating prototype detectors involves Canadian industry, Teledyne-E2V, JPL, and HAA. Science working groups are detailing specific surveys and investigations as a design reference mission, aided by an extensive set of simulation and planning tools (FORECASTOR) being developed at HAA. A detailed costing exercise for the entire mission is also under way as part of the Phase 0 study.
  5. Overall, progress is on track to have a well-defined mission with international partners by about a year from now, as a powerful, Canadian-led mission of unique capability that will serve the community and the world over a wide range of research interests. These range from deep UV imaging surveys and spectra for cosmology, galactic evolution and AGN, to detailed studies of nearby galaxies, exoplanets, the outer solar system, and also enable unique time-domain and multi-messenger astronomy in the UV-blue.

For more information on the mission, see the CASTOR mission website.