2026-04-15
      19:30

RASCTO Speaker's and Social Night: To The Moon - With Robots and Humans

Speaker: Dr. Gordon "Oz" Osinski, Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Western University and Director, Canadian Lunar Research Network

Title: To The Moon - With Robots and Humans

Abstract: 

These are exciting times for Canada in terms of lunar exploration. It has been 54 years since humans last walked on the surface of the Moon. But we are going back. Following the success of Artemis I in late 2022, Artemis II is the next mission in the Artemis program and the precursor to sending humans back to the surface of the Moon. Scheduled to launch in early April 2026, Artemis II will achieve several firsts: it will be the first time humans will fly in NASA’s Orion spacecraft and the first mission to take humans beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. Onboard this historic mission will be Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The robotic exploration of the Moon is also rapidly expanding, with private companies and several nations with recent and upcoming missions. During this talk Dr. Osinski will discuss the scientific rationale for going back to the Moon, the geology training that he has been providing to the Artemis program, the plans and preparations for Artemis III, and some background on the recently cancelled Canadian Lunar Rover Mission.

Speaker Bio: 

Dr. Gordon “Oz” Osinski has over 25 years’ experience in carrying out and supporting the scientific exploration of remote regions of Earth and other planetary surfaces. He holds a PhD from the University of New Brunswick and a BSc (Hons) from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, both in Geology. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, the Meteoritical Society, and the Geological Society, London.  

Dr. Osinski has conducted fieldwork on 6 continents, from Antarctica to Africa, but the Canadian Arctic is where much of his work takes place. He has a proven track record of working with Canadian, U.S., and European industry, academia, and government organizations to develop mission concepts, scientific instruments, and robotic platforms for planetary exploration. He has supported industry on mineral exploration projects across Canada. For the past 15 years he has also been providing geology training to Canadian and US astronauts. Dr. Osinski is also passionate about public outreach and science communication.

Who can attend: See Locations

Locations:

Fee: Free

Organized by: RASC, Toronto Centre

Link: https://www.youtube.com/rasctoronto/live

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