Institute for Earth and Space Exploration at Western University

10/02/2026

It is an exciting day for the space community of London, and for the rest of Canada. 🇨🇦

On October 1st, the Canada Rocket Company broke ground at the London International Airport on a new $30-million rocket testing facility. Western Space director Sarah Gallagher, industry partners and members of local government were in attendance to celebrate the new facility. Gallagher spoke to CTV News about how exciting it is to be adding rocket scientists to London's already-strong space community of engineers, planetary scientists and astrophysicists.

To be named after London-born Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen, the new facility will reduce Canada's reliance on other countries for space launches and help boost London's economy. The site will be operational by 2028, with launch capability as early as 2032.

We cannot wait to see what the future of this new facility holds for Canada, and for the growing presence of Canada in space.

10/01/2026

From co-op to mission control: students help launch the future of space research. 🚀

Western University Physics and Astronomy professor Stanimir Metchev Metchev was recently awarded the 2026 Employer Impact Award for Impact in Research from the University of Waterloo!

Metchev's research team studies exoplanets, and hired two Waterloo Co-op students last summer to develop and test an instrument known as POET. POET, which stands for Photometric Observations of Exoplanet Transits, will be used to study stars and exoplanets, and has applications to future space missions.

To learn more about these unconventional co-op assignments of sending a research instrument into the stratopshere, check out the link: https://uwaterloo.ca/hire/news/co-op-to-mission-control

Learn more about POET: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWUK3TVDtxF/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Sending a research instrument into the stratosphere isn't the typical co-op assignment. However, Professor Stanimir Metchev trusts students to solve problems and contribute to complex research.

09/14/2026

Western University professor Catherine Neish and Planetary Science PhD Student Sashank Vanga were featured on a recent episode of CBC Quirks and Quarks discussing their research in Hawaii.

Using remote sensing tech, they're testing innovative ways to understand the Moon's volcanic history using terrestrial analogues.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/summer-science-special-9.7340381

09/14/2026

Western professor Catherine Neish and Planetary Science PhD student Sashank Vanga were featured on a recent epsiode of CBC/Radio-Canada Quirks and Quarks discussing their research in Hawaii.

Using LiDAR and other remote sensing technologies, they are testing innovative ways to understand the Moon's volcanic history using terrestrial volcanic analogues.

Listen to the full article here: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/summer-science-special-9.7340381

09/09/2026

Welcome back to the Fall semester, Western Space members! 🚀

We are looking forward to bringing you another great year of activities, opportunities and more. Follow along on our socials and on our website at https://space.uwo.ca

08/10/2026

08/07/2026

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

07/30/2026

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

07/30/2026

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