Odin, the first astronomical satellite that Canada has played a significant role in designing, constructing and operating, was successfully launched Tuesday on a START1 rocket from Svobodny, Russia.Odin's primary scientific objective is to search for water and oxygen molecules in space - crucial clues for improving our understanding of the origin of life in the Universe.
Named after the Norse god, Odin is a collaborative project led by Sweden and involving Canada, France, and Finland. Over its planned two-year lifetime, Odin will observe comets, planets, stars, interstellar clouds and galaxies, searching for water, oxygen and other molecules.
To make these observations, the satellite is equipped with high-frequency radio receivers operating at 500 to 600 gigahertz - about a thousand times higher than the frequencies used in commercial television.
Observations of celestial objects at these frequencies are not possible from the ground, as the Earth's atmosphere blocks most of the radiation from space.
"The Odin satellite not only represents the first step by Canada in exploring the high-frequency radio universe, it also pioneers the use of tuneable high-frequency radio technology in space," says the Canadian principal investigator for astronomy, Dr. Sun Kwok, of the University of Calgary's Space Astronomy Laboratory.
The other U of C Odin team members, Dr. Steve Torchinsky and Dr. Kevin Volk, will monitor the launch and flight performance at the Swedish Space Corporation in Stockholm and at the ground station at Esrange in the north of Sweden.
Also participating in this project are researchers at the University of Waterloo, St. Mary's University, McMaster University, and the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics. Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan and other Canadian universities are using Odin to study the effects of pollution on the Earth's atmosphere.
"This is one of the proudest moments of Canadian astronomy," says Kwok. The launch is the climax culminating more than eight years of preparation. Kwok says the Odin project represents an exciting project at the frontier of science done at a modest cost.
It began with a proposal by Kwok to the Canadian Space Agency, which approved the participation in this international endeavor in 1994.
The Canadian Space Agency provided approximately $15 million for the construction and operation of the Odin satellite in Canada. NSERC (the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) is also providing approximately $1 million over five years for ground-based scientific support as well as for the analysis of data coming from the mission.
Related website:
Odin and the U of C Space Astronomy Laboratory
[Contact: Dennis Urquhart]
21-Feb-2001
