MEDIA ADVISORY/PHOTO OP - Ontario Science Centre revs up for the latest in space exploration technologies with Rockets, Robots & Rovers

Weekend-long event features Canadian Space Agency robotics flight controller Kristen Facciol

TORONTO, Aug. 12, 2019 /CNW/ - As part of its Summer of Space lineup, the Ontario Science Centre hosts a weekend-long Rockets, Robots & Rovers event on August 17 and 18 to showcase the latest technologies in space exploration—from satellites to soil sampling to lunar mining. Rockets, Robots & Rovers provides a unique opportunity for the public to experience space exploration technologies in action and to engage with researchers, scientists and engineers who work at the forefront in this sector.

Program Highlights

• Presentation by Canadian Space Agency operations engineer and robotics flight controller Kristen Facciol on what it's like to work in Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center
• Workshop to construct and test a Latching End Effector, the agile "hand" of the Canadarm2, led by Kristen Facciol who trains astronauts to use this technology
• Presentation by planetary scientist Bhairavi Shankar on how satellite data informs what we know about our solar system
• Simulated rover mission, facilitated by York University, to determine the habitability of a mystery planet

For the full line-up, including activity descriptions and times, please visit OntarioScienceCentre.ca. Rocket, Robots & Rovers is included with general admission.

What	Rockets, Robots & Rovers weekend
Who	Michael Carter, Educational Tech Creator, Interactive Holograms
	Kristen Facciol, Operations Engineer and Robotics Flight Controller, Canadian Space Agency
	Vincent Hui, M.Arch, Associate Professor, Architectural Science, Ryerson University
	Dimitri Ignakov, PhD, Co-founder, Taiga Robotics
	John Moores, PhD, Associate Professor, Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University
	Bhairavi Shankar, PhD, Planetary Scientist and Founder, Indus Space
	Christina Smith, PhD, Post-graduate Fellow, Technologies for Exo-Planetary Science, York University
	Rachel Ward-Maxwell, PhD, Researcher-Programmer, Astronomy & Space Sciences, Ontario Science Centre
	Sean Lee Ying, Researcher-Programmer, Ontario Science Centre
When	Saturday, August 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
	Sunday, August 18 from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where	Ontario Science Centre
	770 Don Mills Road, Toronto, ON
	Please enter via main entrance. TV crews may enter at back entrance via Gateway Blvd.

SOURCE Ontario Science Centre

Media contacts: Anna Relyea, Director, Strategic Communications, 416-696-3273 | c: 416-668-1967, [email protected]; Andrea Mus, Media Relations Officer, 416-696-3191 | c: 416-895-5482, [email protected]; For interviews with Kristen Facciol, please contact the Canadian Space Agency at [email protected].

Related Links

www.ontariosciencecentre.ca