Institute for Earth and Space Exploration at Western University

In the early hours of August 5th, a segment of the SpaceX Falcon rocket that was destined to drift into empty space took a different route. 🚀

The 12 m-long segment travelling over 8,000 km/hour impacted the lunar surface as patient scientists on Earth, including Western University Physics & Astronomy professor Stanimir Metchev and his team, looked on. Using infrared and optical wavelength telescopes, Metchev and his team tracked the impact and will be reducing the data to reveal more about the resulting explosion and the effects of this impact on the lunar surface.

Check out the full interview to hear more about the scientific, technological, and national defence significance of this event:

CBC/Radio-Canada Part 1:
https://iqmediacorp.com/ExternalIframeMedia?mediaID=545d4c12-d9f5-4921-b9db-6c503cdf8e04&isRM=false&rawMediaType=TV&end=true

CBC/Radio-Canada Part 2:
https://iqmediacorp.com/ExternalIframeMedia?mediaID=25888d08-31f5-4e77-995d-712ec0564058&isRM=false&rawMediaType=TV&end=true

Remember the fireball that streaked across southern Ontario in June?

Western scientists have successfully verified the origins of fragments of the fireball that landed on Cockburn Island in Lake Huron following their collection by two members of the Meteorite Recovery Specialists volunteer group. While they’re not officially classified yet, the rocks are suspected to be chondrites - a common stony meteorite found in the solar system - that hail from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Learn more about this story here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/meteorites-recovered-cockburn-island-9.7282615

Remember the fireball that streaked across southern Ontario in June?

Western scientists have successfully verified the origins of fragments of the fireball that landed on Cockburn Island in Lake Huron after they were collected by two members of the Meteorite Recovery Specialists volunteer group.

While they’re not officially classified yet, the rocks are suspected to be chondrites from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Learn more about this story here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/meteorites-recovered-cockburn-island-9.7282615

Scientists have observed sugar - specifically the kind found in raspberries - within the collection of gas and dust between stars known as the interstellar medium.

Western University Physics and Astronomy professor Sarah Gallagher was featured in an article discussing the implications of this observation, including what it may mean for understanding the origins of life on Earth.

Check out the full article here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/sugar-in-space-life-on-earth-9.7281908

The Moon is 384,000 kilometres away from Earth, but one of the best places to study its surface is much closer to home.

Western University planetary science professor Catherine Neish and PhD candidate Sashank Vanga travelled to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park in June to investigate lava flows that could reveal new clues about the Moon’s volcanic past. 🌋

Learn all about their field research at the article here: https://news.westernu.ca/2026/07/hawaii-lunar-volcanism/

The NASA Dragonfly mission to Saturn's moon Titan just got one step closer.

Dragonfly, led by an international team including co-investigator Western University professor Catherine Neish, has completed its frame qualification testing in preparation for the July 2028 launch.

Dragonfly's mission is to investigate the unique chemistry on this methane-rich world and help science learn more about how the building blocks of life form across the solar system.

Learn more about the mission here:

NASA Dragonfly rotorcraft enters integration phase ahead of Titan mission The NASA Dragonfly mission has completed frame testing. The rotorcraft will explore Titan and search for complex organic molecules in 2034.

A global network of cameras built to track meteors is taking on a new mission: helping scientists better understand how aircraft contrails influence Earth’s climate. ✈️

Western University researchers are contributing this unique capability to E-CONTRAIL 2, a major international research project led by Manuel Soler at UC3M ( Carlos III de Madrid), funded through the European Union’s Horizon Europe program.

Leading Western’s contribution are research scientist and Institute for Earth and Space Exploration (Western Space) member Denis Vida and Western University PhD candidate Emily Tracey, who will provide contrail observations collected through the Global Meteor Network – a worldwide network of more than 1,400 ground-based cameras originally created by Vida to detect meteors.

Read the full article here:
https://news.westernu.ca/2026/07/horizon-europe-e-contrail-2/

Western researchers join international efforts to understand aviation’s climate impact Western University researchers are contributing to E-CONTRAIL 2, a major international research project bringing together scientists from around the world to improve understanding of aircraft contrails and their climate effects.

It's cool to care about space and your place in it, no matter which generation you are from! ✨🚀🤗