A Rocket Scientist's Guide to Mapping Asteroids

Space Place Planetarium Canada is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary group of professionals determined to bring an iconic 21st century public planetarium back to Toronto, supporting a virtual planetarium for Canada and the world.Toronto has not had a public planetarium since 1995, and the city is the largest tourist destination in the world without one. It is a critical missing piece of Toronto’s tourism and educational infrastructure.

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Join Space Place Canada for an overview of the scanning laser altimeter that helped map the asteroid Bennu for the OSIRIS-REx mission.

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This fall, the OSIRIS-REx Mission is expected to deliver a sample from the surface of asteroid Bennu (101955) to Earth before travelling to near-Earth asteroid Apophis. First launched in 2016, OSIRIS-REx reached Bennu in 2018, mapping and observing the asteroid as well as gathering a sample from the surface. Dr. Cameron Dickinson, from MDA, is the technical lead for the OSIRIS Laser Altimeter, an instrument contributed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) for this mission. This tool was used for scanning and developing a highly accurate 3D model of Bennu. Dr. Dickinson will give an overview of this instrument and its successes as part of his talk. One of the goals of the mission was to understand the OSIRIS laser altimeter’s applicability to mining for water resources on asteroids, and Dr. Dickinson will also discuss a recent student project to explore the technical, policy and business aspects of mining an asteroid.Speakers:

Speaker: Dr. Cameron Dickinson - Space Exploration Scientist/Technical Lead, MDADr. Dickinson’s work at MDA is centred around the design and development of scientific instruments for planetary exploration. He is the technical lead for the OSIRIS Laser Altimeter, which reached the asteroid Bennu in fall of 2018, and will return a sample in 2023. He also worked on several optical related projects including Replacement CAMeras on the International Space Station (RCAM), which is currently being manufactured for the Canadian Space Agency; Vision System Architect for Canadarm3 for the initial phase of development; and most recently development of a laser detection system for the Canadian Surface Combatant (Naval Frigate). His recent work on the OSIRIS-REx Mission, and understanding of planetary science, has led him to expand into the domain of space In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), which is how to utilize materials native to planetary bodies — for example, mining water from asteroid Bennu, or developing construction techniques for the lunar surface using regolith filled sandbags.Host: Charles Ennis - President, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.Charles got his first telescope as a child but when he got involved in a law enforcement career working night shift that interfered with that passion. Charles retired from this career in April 2013, bought a new telescope, and joined the Sunshine Coast Centre of the RASC that August. Within months he became their media director and in December 2014 became President of the SCC. In May 2016 became National Secretary and in June 2022 became President. Charles has served with the Publications Committee (now the Editorial Board) and is the author Building a Small Observatory (Published 2016, 2nd edition 2021) and the Solar Observer’s Handbook (published 2017). He’s the editor of the 2nd and 3rd editions of the Explore the Universe Handbook. He’s served on the Fundraising Committee, the Finance Committee, and is coordinator of the Public Speaker’s Program. He’s the cofounder of the Inclusivity and Diversity Committee (2018) and has been doing presentations on the sky cultures of the world since 2017. In June 2021 he founded the World Asterisms Project.campus.About Space Place CanadaSpace Place Planetarium Canada is a registered Canadian charity, comprised of multi-disciplined professionals from across Canada dedicated to bringing a 21st century physical public planetarium to Toronto supporting a virtual planetarium for Canada and the world. A public planetarium promotes STEAM (STEM+ Arts), education, experiences, careers, and recruitment in Canada. Space Place Canada will soon show you the heavens and pathways!Our Event Sponsors

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A Rocket Scientist's Guide to Mapping Asteroids

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