Space happens here: Inside UNB's growing role in NASA missions
Author: UNB Newsroom
Posted on Aug 17, 2026
Category: UNB Fredericton
From Mars to the Moon and beyond, discover how researchers and students at the University of New Brunswick are contributing to some of the world's most ambitious space missions
When most people picture space exploration, they think of rocket launches in Florida, mission control rooms in Houston, or rovers exploring the surface of Mars.
Few would expect a major contribution to those efforts to come from New Brunswick.
But at the University of New Brunswick, researchers are helping answer scientific questions about Mars, tracking spacecraft and satellites, and developing technologies that support some of the world's most ambitious space missions.
Through collaborations with NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, and the European Space Agency, UNB researchers contribute expertise that advances humanity's understanding of space.
For decades, UNB researchers have built expertise in fields ranging from planetary science and engineering to geodesy and satellite communications. Today, that expertise is contributing to some of the most significant space missions underway anywhere in the world.
Exploring other worlds
One of UNB's contributions to space exploration is taking place millions of kilometres away on the surface of Mars.
Dr. Lucy Thompson and Dr. Catherine O'Connell-Cooper are members of the team supporting NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover mission. Last year, their work unearthed a discovery that provided insights into the planet’s history and whether it may once have supported conditions suitable for life.
This work forms part of a global scientific effort to answer two of humanity's biggest questions: how do planets evolve, and does life exist elsewhere in the universe?
Connecting Earth to space
Behind every successful space mission is an enormous network of technology, infrastructure and expertise here on Earth.
At UNB, researchers are helping to build and operate some of those essential connections.
Through satellite tracking, communications systems, and ground-based infrastructure, UNB teams contribute to the systems that allow spacecraft and satellites to exchange information with researchers, engineers, and mission teams around the world.
The UNB Earth Station provides opportunities to receive, process, and work with satellite data while giving students hands-on experience with technologies essential to space exploration.
In 2026, Dr. Brent Petersen, professor in UNB's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Dr. Richard Langley, professor in the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, contributed to NASA's Artemis II mission.
Working through the UNB Earth Station and alongside student researchers, the team successfully received and tracked radio signals from the Orion spacecraft Integrity as it travelled around the Moon.
As the only Canadian university selected to help track the mission, UNB joined an international network supporting spacecraft communications and demonstrating Canadian expertise in satellite tracking and space systems.
This work supports research, training and collaboration, while helping UNB contribute to space missions and satellite programs in Canada and around the world.
Building the future of space exploration
UNB's impact on space exploration extends beyond research and technology. It’s also helping develop the people who will shape the field’s future.
Students work alongside researchers on projects connected to satellite technologies, planetary science, remote sensing, communications, and engineering. In many cases, they gain hands-on experience with tools and technologies used by organizations such as NASA, the Canadian Space Agency and the European Space Agency.
Those opportunities provide students with valuable skills and connections while helping build the highly qualified workforce needed for future space missions.
For Canada, that means creating opportunities for students to participate in globally significant research, preparing graduates for careers in one of the world's most exciting and fastest-growing sectors.
Space happens here
"Space exploration has always been a global effort, and universities play a critical role in that work," said Dr. David MaGee, vice president research at UNB.
"What we're seeing at UNB is researchers and students contributing expertise that is making an impact far beyond our campus."
From helping scientists understand Mars to supporting the technologies that connect Earth to space, UNB researchers are proving that world-class space science doesn't only happen at major government facilities or mission control centres.
It happens in laboratories, classrooms and research facilities in New Brunswick, too.
In the next installment of Space Happens Here, we'll dive into the research of Dr. Lucy Thompson and Dr. Catherine O'Connell-Cooper, whose work is helping to unlock the geological history of Mars through NASA's Curiosity rover mission.
This story is one of a new series highlighting how the University of New Brunswick is helping advance space science and Canada’s role in space exploration.