We are members of Canada's space sector, with special guest former Astronaut Chris Hadfield, discussing our past and future in Space Technology and Exploration. Ask Us Anything!

Thanks for all the questions! If you're near Toronto, please come to my Generator show this Thursday night at Roy Thomson Hall. It is going to be rare, thought-provoking fun with ideas, music, comedy - a special, weird, and interesting crossover of a night:

https://chris-hadfield.prezly.com/chris-hadfields-annual-generator-returns-to-roy-thomson-hall-to-wow-audiences-november-15

I'm off now to prepare for it - stories to tell, guests to interview, a song to learn ... thanks again!

Thanks Commander Hadfield - You made our day (again). Can't wait to see what you do next. #dontletgocanada

As a current Canadian university student interested in the space industry and Canada's role in space, what can I do to get involved?

Hey there! You can and should get involved! Check out the dontletgocanada.ca website to see what steps to take. You'll see that we are already supported by space engineering and rocketry teams at universities across the country.

If you can say, what are some of Canada’s long-term space goals?

Unfortunately, the truth is that right now Canada doesn’t have any long-term goals. The last long-term plan goes back a couple of decades. And without a plan… drift. As a result, Canada has fallen from 8th to 18th place in investment in space since 1992. That’s why the Don’t Let Go Canada campaign exists: to get the Government of Canada to step up and put in place a long-term fully funded space plan.

Is there a particular political party that stands for Canadian investment in space exploration and research? It doesn't seem to be even on the agenda of any of the parties nowadays.

They all should! A major Ipsos survey conducted this summer found that roughly eight in 10 Canadians think the federal government should be supporting the development of the space sector; that if they heard the amount Canada is investing in space robotics was increasing they would think this is a good decision; and that success in space contributes a great deal to knowledge, innovation, and the competitiveness of Canada. An even greater proportion agree (91%, including 52% who strongly agree) that maintaining leadership in space robotics, like the Canadarm, is important for Canada.

These are the same Canadians that vote...

What do you think humanity’s future in space will look like ten years from now?

Lunar Gateway will be up and running; space mining will be getting big -- Tiny Luxembourg (population of just 600,000) has set its sights on being the leading country in space mining. Why space mining? Because just one asteroid, the size of a football field, is estimated to have between $25 and $50 billion worth of rare and precious metals, and there are currently 18,000 such asteroids in the vicinity of Earth. Space mining missions will start as early as the 2020s.

How do you feel Canadians contribute to space exploration? What can the average person do to help encourage interest and support for Canadian space programs?

Check out the dontletgocanada.ca campaign -- our whole purpose is to let people know Canada is at a turning point when it comes to space and that if we don't turn this (space)ship around, we are at risk of letting go our world leading space sector. Trouble is, a lot of people outside this Reddit don't know that we are leaders and what we stand to lose.

Do you have any advice on how to deal with someone that adamantly denies space exploration and believes that the earth is flat?

Walk away. Let them use their GPS to find their best route home to go watch their satellite TV show.

Thoughts on Spacex and their plans for Mars?

Two thumbs up! They are pushing boundaries, which is important. Through their reusable rocket technology, they lowering the cost of getting to space, which will open up access to more governments and companies to launch technologies to space which will be of benefit to people on Earth - launching satellites to measure climate change, monitor forest fires so first responders know where to go, watch for ocean oil spills or bilge-dumping, etc.. Importantly, SpaceX is helping to rekindle our collective interest in space and making it exciting again! Their double rocket landing was incredible... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHr50QsXZkY

Chris,
In general, how has time spent in space, isolated from the rest of the world, influenced the way you behave socially on earth? Do you think you are kinder? More withdrawn? More open? Has it made you more sympathetic? Perhaps you are a more lonely because you have experienced things most of humanity hasn't? Thanks!

The loneliest people I have ever met live in the middle of cities. Spaceflight is the opposite - it allows you the see the whole world in 92 minutes, to soak up the shared nature of human existence, to get a feel for the toughness and age of The Earth and life itself. It makes you an optimist, with increased resolve to be a good citizen, A contributing crewmember of the good ship Earth.

Just rereading the comments. Wow. Great quote.

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Well, what makes sense to us is that you should get in touch with your government and express your support. Governments have lots of priorities, and space can feel far away from everyday concerns -- yet space now touches the lives of Canadians, for example, 20 to 30 times a day — from weather predictions, to monitoring climate change, to using an ATM, to checking a map on a smartphone, to downloading movies, to ground and air traffic management -- and tomorrow’s advances — autonomous cars, smart cities, advanced autonomous AI and robotics for manufacturing and even remote surgery – will be propelled by space science and technology. So, yeah, reach out and tell your government that investing in space matters to you. While you're at it, tell your friends and colleagues too.

Hey all, thanks for taking questions. I read about a spaceport being build in Nova Scotia sometime in the near future. Is that still moving forward ? If so, what do you think that will mean for Canadian space sector ?

It's a very exciting project. Maritime Launch Services, a #DontLetGoCanada partner, is working its way through the regulatory hoops. But imagine how exciting it would be to watch rocket launches from Canadian soil!

Have you ever considered spelling it “spehce”?

Ha! Very Canadian!

What is something related to space that you wish more people knew or talked about?

This AMA.

https://i.imgur.com/ng5FZKA.jpg

That the best way to monitor the Earth's melting ice caps is through space technology, as they are difficult to monitor in other ways. Canada's RADARSAT Earth observation satellites are important contributors to our knowledge in this area. RADARSAT-1 was launched in 1995 and lived for 17 years; RADARSAT-2 was launched in 2007 and is currently still providing robust information. And Canada is about to launch the third generation RADARSAT Constellation Mission, a trio of Earth observing satellites that will give us more timely information from space. Canada is very good at developing space technologies!

In honor of the Don't Let Go Canada campaign, my friend, the very talented Jessica Borutski (@jessicaborutski on instagram) created a custom illustration inspired by Canada's space program! The details speak for themselves :) How do you like it, space people? https://imgur.com/a/DMCzYBh

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This is AMAZING! Thank you Jessica!!

Yes I know the original version and love it. See it all over Ottawa on Canada Day on T-shirts - http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OSxCoS7CPxk/TkPqposdvhI/AAAAAAAAAhM/30w3FVLWEYQ/s1600/canadiancrest.jpg

We have recently designed functionality on our website to let you email your MP. Try it out and let us know if it works by putting your postal code in. Also if you want to help us then SEND! Thanks

https://dontletgocanada.ca/contact#

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Question on manufacturing.

Why haven't we drawn up plans for an orbital manufacturing facility?

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We have enough lift capability with the current rockets to get the piece of the structure up there, mind you it would take years to build and massive amounts of resources, but it would enhance our space exploration capabilities so we wouldn't have to deal with the atmosphere when it comes to launching craft at that point for exploration around the solar system.

Canada has been a leader in space robotics for decades. In fact, today is the anniversary of the first launch of the Canadarm in 1981 on STS-2. If you imagine the future of space exploration, a capability like robotics will always be important to be an expert in. Canadian company MDA is currently looking at the on-orbit servicing of satellites - repairing satellites that don't launch properly, or tugging them to a different orbit, or refueling them to give them a longer lifespan. You can then imagine building satellites or telescopes in space, because what constrains their size is the size of the rocket fairing. So as you say, you could easily bring up pieces and assemble in space, just like countries did with the ISS. In the future, maybe satellites will consist of a platform that will always stay in space, but you could swap out payloads with older technologies with newer versions. This would bring down the cost of large geostationary satellites, if its parts were built to be plug-n-play.

Any robotic arms/systems eyed for something like the Lunar Gateway?

I figure some assembly will still be required up there ;)

Check out this image of the Lunar Gateway produced by NASA - there is a robotic arm there! And it should be named Canadarm3, if we can convince the Canadian government to contribute it to NASA! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DlsvVKSUwAA1wVG.jpg:large

Congratulations and thank you all!

And if I need to ask a question: Which question were you expecting and would you like to answer?

Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck, or a hundred duck-sized horses?

How do we as Canadians help Don't Let Go Canada Secure Canada's role in space?