Canadian Activities on the International Space Station in 2013 and a Bold Initiative for the Future

摘要

Canada has already completed 26 investigations during the construction phase of the International Space Station (ISS). Since construction completion, last year was very special for Canada, for many reasons including the first Canadian ISS Commander, Chris Hadfield who filled the role between March and May 2013. Records of ISS utilization were broken during his stay and five major Canadian experiments were performed. Canadian scientific activities covered a wide range of disciplines including physical sciences (the colloid experiment BCAT-C1), radiation dosimetry (the use of neutron bubble detectors in the Radi-N2 project), life sciences (cardiovascular experiments such as BP Reg and Vascular), technology demonstration (flight of the bioanalysis instrument Microflowl) and outreach (Tomatosphere III). The Canadian-built robotic arm system (Canadarm2, Dextre and its base (SSRMS) was used for general maintenance and to capture the SpaceX, Orbital and HTV vehicles, demonstrating it is a critical link in the ISS resupply system, in addition to its continuing role in ISS inspection and maintenance. Chris Hadfield's mission was also the focus of many outreach and educational activities, including videos on scientific payloads and on the introduction of the new Canadian 5$ bill showcasing Canadian space robotics. Finally, Chris Hadfield starred alongside the ISS, in the first music video shot in space, his version of David Bowie's song 'Space Oddity'. The popularity of his mission on social networks has certainly contributed to raise the interest of the world regarding the role of the ISS as a stepping stone for human space flight beyond Low Earth Orbit.