From a university campus in New Brunswick, far from the celebrated launch pads and mission control rooms of popular imagination, researchers and students are quietly shaping humanity's reach into the cosmos. The University of New Brunswick has embedded itself into active NASA, CSA, and ESA missions — supporting the Curiosity rover's search for life on Mars and tracking the Orion spacecraft as it circled the Moon — demonstrating that the frontier of space science is not reserved for a handful of famous institutions. This is a story about where knowledge actually lives, and who gets to build it.
UNB researchers advance NASA missions from Mars to Moon
Space happens in laboratories and classrooms in New Brunswick, too.
Mark
Why does it matter that a Canadian university is involved in these missions? Isn't NASA doing the work anyway?
Mimi
NASA does the work, yes, but space missions are genuinely collaborative. You need ground stations around the world to track spacecraft, you need scientists in different places asking different questions about the data. UNB's Earth Station and its researchers aren't peripheral—they're part of the actual infrastructure that makes these missions function.
Mark
What's the practical difference between students learning about space exploration and students actually participating in it?
Mimi
The difference is enormous. When you're receiving real signals from a spacecraft orbiting the Moon, you're not studying a textbook case. You're troubleshooting live systems, understanding how communications actually work under real constraints. That experience shapes how you think about problems for the rest of your career.
Mark
Does Canada benefit economically from this work, or is it mainly about prestige?
Mimi
Both, but the economic piece is real. Canada has a growing space sector. When UNB graduates enter that sector with hands-on experience from actual NASA missions, they're more valuable to employers. They've already worked at that level. That's a competitive advantage.
Mark
Why focus on Mars right now? What's the scientific urgency?
Mimi
Mars is the closest analog we have to Earth. Understanding its geological history—whether it had liquid water, a thicker atmosphere, conditions that could support life—tells us how planets evolve. It also tells us what to look for elsewhere. These aren't abstract questions. They're foundational to understanding our place in the universe.
Mark
What happens next for UNB's space work?
Mimi
The immediate focus is deepening the Mars research. Thompson and O'Connell-Cooper's work with Curiosity is ongoing, and there's more to understand about what the rover is finding. But the broader pattern is clear: UNB is positioning itself as a serious player in space science, not just in Canada but internationally.
Le Pouls
- The assumption that world-class space science belongs only to government agencies and famous mission centers is being quietly dismantled by a Canadian university most people wouldn't associate with Mars or the Moon.
- UNB researchers are embedded in active NASA missions — contributing to Curiosity's decade-long geological investigation of Mars and becoming the only Canadian university to track Artemis II's Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit.
- The university's Earth Station gives students live contact with the same satellite infrastructure used by NASA, CSA, and ESA — not simulations, but real transmissions from real spacecraft.
- Canada faces a fast-growing and globally competitive space sector, and UNB is positioning its graduates at the center of it by training them through direct participation rather than observation.
- The trajectory is forward: deeper Mars research is forthcoming, and UNB's role in international space collaboration appears to be expanding rather than plateauing.
From a university campus in New Brunswick, far from the celebrated launch pads and mission control rooms of popular imagination, researchers and students are quietly shaping humanity's reach into the cosmos. The University of New Brunswick has embedded itself into active NASA, CSA, and ESA missions — supporting the Curiosity rover's search for life on Mars and tracking the Orion spacecraft as it circled the Moon — demonstrating that the frontier of space science is not reserved for a handful of famous institutions. This is a story about where knowledge actually lives, and who gets to build it.
When most people picture space exploration, they imagine Florida launch pads or Houston mission control. The University of New Brunswick doesn't fit that image — and yet researchers and students there have been doing real, consequential work on some of humanity's most ambitious missions beyond Earth.
Dr. Lucy Thompson and Dr. Catherine O'Connell-Cooper are part of the team supporting NASA's Curiosity rover, which has spent over a decade exploring Mars. Their work has contributed to findings about the planet's geological history and whether it once held conditions suitable for life — questions that sit at the very heart of planetary science and the search for extraterrestrial existence.
Mars is only part of the picture. Every deep-space mission depends on ground-based infrastructure, and UNB has built its own. The university's Earth Station receives and processes satellite data using the same technologies relied upon by NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, and the European Space Agency. Students don't observe this work from a distance — they participate in it directly.
In 2026, that participation reached a new milestone. Professors Brent Petersen and Richard Langley led a team that tracked radio signals from NASA's Artemis II mission as the Orion spacecraft orbited the Moon. UNB was the only Canadian university selected for this role, placing it within an international network supporting one of the most significant human spaceflight programs in decades.
Beyond the scientific returns, the human dimension matters enormously. Students are developing real skills in satellite communications, planetary science, and engineering — and building connections with major space agencies — all while Canada's space sector grows rapidly. As UNB's vice president of research puts it, space exploration has always been a collaborative global effort, and universities are essential to it. The work at UNB makes that case plainly: world-class space science doesn't only emerge from government facilities. It also happens wherever curiosity, expertise, and infrastructure come together.
When you think of space exploration, your mind probably goes to Florida's launch pads, Houston's mission control, or rovers crawling across the Martian dust. The University of New Brunswick doesn't fit that mental picture. Yet for years now, researchers and students working in laboratories and classrooms in New Brunswick have been contributing real, measurable work to some of humanity's most ambitious missions beyond Earth.
Dr. Lucy Thompson and Dr. Catherine O'Connell-Cooper are part of the team supporting NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been exploring Mars for over a decade. Last year, their work helped uncover findings about the planet's geological history and whether it once harbored conditions suitable for life. This is not peripheral work—it sits at the heart of two of the deepest questions we ask: how do planets change over time, and are we alone in the universe?
But Mars is only part of the story. Every space mission, no matter how distant, depends on an intricate web of ground-based infrastructure, communications systems, and expertise here on Earth. At UNB, researchers have built that infrastructure and the knowledge to operate it. The university's Earth Station receives and processes satellite data, giving students direct experience with the same technologies that NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, and the European Space Agency rely on. It's not a simulation. It's the real thing.
In 2026, that work took on new significance. Dr. Brent Petersen and Dr. Richard Langley, both professors in UNB's engineering and geomatics departments, led a team that successfully received and tracked radio signals from NASA's Artemis II mission as the Orion spacecraft orbited the Moon. UNB was the only Canadian university selected for this role, placing it in an international network of institutions supporting one of the most visible human spaceflight programs in decades. The students working alongside these researchers weren't watching from the sidelines—they were actively receiving transmissions from a spacecraft circling the Moon.
What makes this work matter beyond the immediate scientific return is what it does for the people involved. Students gain hands-on experience with tools and technologies they'll use throughout their careers. They build connections with researchers at major space agencies. They develop skills in satellite communications, planetary science, remote sensing, and engineering. For Canada, this means graduates entering a sector that is growing rapidly and globally competitive, carrying expertise developed through real participation in real missions.
Dr. David MaGee, UNB's vice president of research, frames it plainly: space exploration has always been a collaborative global effort, and universities are essential to that work. What's happening at UNB challenges the assumption that world-class space science only emerges from government facilities or major mission control centers. It also happens in the research labs and classrooms of a Canadian university, where the next generation of space scientists and engineers are learning their craft by doing it.
The work continues. UNB has signaled that deeper dives into the research of Thompson and O'Connell-Cooper—their ongoing efforts to decode Mars's geological secrets through Curiosity—will follow. For now, the university stands as proof that space exploration is not confined to a handful of famous locations. It happens wherever curiosity, expertise, and infrastructure converge.
Citations marquantes
Space exploration has always been a global effort, and universities play a critical role in that work. What we're seeing at UNB is researchers and students contributing expertise that is making an impact far beyond our campus.— Dr. David MaGee, vice president of research at UNB
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Science & Space