The principal investigator for Northern Light is Brendan Quine. Dr. Quine is Associate Professor of Space Science and Engineering at York University and Thoth’s CTO. As Northern Light PI, he assumes with Thoth overall responsibility for the system and is co-coordinating all phases of the mission.

The following sections list our team members and their interests in alphabetical order, from A to G.

Professor Jonathan Abbatt (Co-I, Atmospheric Science)
Jonathan Abbatt is currently a professor in the department of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on using state-of-the-art analytical techniques, involving mass spectrometry and spectroscopy, to study the fundamental physical chemistry of processes involved in global atmospheric change, with particular attention to the role of aerosol particles in the chemistry of the troposphere. Professor Abbatt will study the optical properties of Martian mineral dust, the mechanisms of ice-cloud formation and atmospheric chemistry.

Professor Timothy Barfoot (Co-I, Northern Light Rover System)
Timothy Barfoot is currently a professor at the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies (UTIAS). He will act as Co-Investigator for the Northern Light Lander Rover System. Professor Barfoot completed his PhD in the Space Robotics Group at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies. He is interested in mobile robotics, particularly networks of mobile robots for planetary space exploration. Particular areas of interest include mobile and network robotics, control systems, decentralized control, artificial intelligence, artificial life and space exploration.

Professor Peter Bernath (Co-I, Atmospheric Science)
Peter Bernath is a professor in the department of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo. Professor Bernath is an atmospheric chemist and will provide assistance for the atmospheric components of the mission. Professor Bernath completed his Ph.D. at MIT. His research areas include laser and fourier transform spectroscopy of transient molecules, molecular astronomy and atmospheric science.

Professor Bernath’s research objective is the spectroscopic characterization of unusual species, such as free radicals, high-temperature molecules and ions. Molecules found in flames, electrical discharges, lasers, explosions, the earth’s atmosphere, stellar atmospheres and the interstellar medium are of particular interest. In laboratory environments these species occur in low concentrations because of their great chemical reactivity. Techniques based on tunable lasers and Fourier transform spectroscopy provide the sensitivity required for routine detection of their spectra in the gas phase.

Dr. Stephen Braham
Stephen Braham is Director of the PolyLAB for Advanced Collaborative Networking at Simon Fraser University. A physicist by training, he works on computing and communication needs for a wide range of applications in extreme environments. A large part of his research focuses on advanced protocol development for Mars exploration and, in particular, for human missions to Mars. Dr. Braham is Senior Researcher of the MarsCanada project funded by the Canadian Space Agency and Chief Field Engineer of the NASA Haughton-Mars Project, developing and testing technologies for planetary surface exploration in analog Martian environments, such as the Haughton Crater in the Canadian High Arctic. Technologies range from spacesuit computing to surface communications and next-generation Deep Space communication techniques and protocols.

Professor John Caldwell (Co-I, Atmospheric Science)
Dr. Caldwell is currently a Professor at York University. His Ph.D thesis was entitled Ultraviolet Observations of Mars from the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory. He has held research positions at Lowell Observatory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Princeton University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His research career has been devoted to planetary studies and, recently, to extra-solar planets. He has worked with the Hubble Space Telescope since 1977. He has used the HST to make UV observations of CO on Mars.

Paul Chen
Paul Chen has worked for the Department of Physics, University of Toronto, for 35 years and is Head of Cryogenic and Vacuum Systems at Thoth Technology. Paul has extensive management experience and specialist skills in laser design, vacuum systems, and cryogenic technology. Since 1980, he has managed laser production at Ultralasertec Co.; he is also responsible for designing the space-test facility for the MOPITT instrument, to be flown on SCISAT 1.

Dr. Edward Cloutis (PI, Northern Light Rover Hyperspectral Imager)
Dr. Cloutis is a professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Winnipeg. His participation in Northern Light will involve the use of near-infrared spectroscopy (~1-5 microns) to characterise materials at the landing site. This wavelength region holds great promise for detecting and characterising important minerals species, as well as detecting the presence of biomolecules and organic compounds in very low concentrations.

Dr. Cloutis is also engaged in a number of other Mars-related research projects. He recently completed a CSA study to compare performance of hyperspectral imagers for Mars-surface mapping, and he has constructed an environment chamber designed to simulate Martian conditions, including atmospheric pressure and temperature, composition, and ultraviolet light regime. The primary use of this facility is to examine the stability of various mineral species expected to be present on the Martian surface, as well as to test and validate instrumentation destined for the Martian surface. Dr. Cloutis was also recently awarded a contract from ESA to design data-compression and analysis tools for hyperspectral imagers, related to the Aurora program.

Professor Gabe D’Eleuterio (PI, Northern Light Rover System)
Gabe D’Eleuterio is a professor at the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies (UTIAS). He will act as a Primary Investigator for the Northern Light Lander Rover System.

Professor James Drummond (PI, MARGO orbiter spectrometer; Co-I, Northern Light)
James R. Drummond is Professor of Physics at the University of Toronto. He is an experimentalist in the area of remote sounding instrumentation and specializes in measurements of atmospheric constituents using radiative techniques. Professor Drummond has over 25 years experience in designing and operating space instrumentation.

Professor Drummond’s role in Northern Light will be to provide specific technical and scientific guidance as well as specific input into instrument design and trade-offs. During the pre-launch period, he will assemble a team to participate in the development of retrieval algorithms for atmospheric constituents and opacity. After launch he will play a major role in the data reduction. His major scientific interest is atmospheric composition and, particularly, the linking of surface measurements with those made form orbit. Professor Drummond will be Principal Investigator of the MARGO orbiter instrument.

Dr. Kathleen Gilbert (Co-I, Northern Light MARES Airglow Camera)
Dr. Kathleen Gilbert is a Research Scientist at the University of Western Ontario and has studied terrestrial airglow for 20 years. Her modeling and theoretical studies have concentrated on the basic extinction mechanisms of OH+, the variability of the airglow due to chemical and dynamical influences, and global characteristics of the NIR background continuum emission as measured by WINDII. She has made ground-based airglow measurements using FTIR, for which she developed data acquisition, processing and analysis software. Dr. has been Project Manager for several CSA Concept Studies for gravity wave observations using airglow imaging systems in space-based platforms.

Dr. Jacques Yves Guigné
Jacques is CEO and Chief Scientist of Guigné International Ltd. (Paradise, Newfoundland), founded in 1989. Since the 1980s, Jacques has pioneered the development of non-linear sonar to applications of detection and classification, particularly in shallow water. He holds seven international patents, including his company’s core technology (DRUMS®), and has an extensive list of publications. He has managed or provided oversight on all DRUMS® development projects. Jacques, with Chris Woodworth-Lynas (Guigné International Ltd.) and Brian Pratt (University of Saskatchewan), is studying the theory of a north polar ocean on Mars by examining surficial features that may have been formed by the past interaction of floating sea-ice keels and an ancient seafloor. Jacques is working with colleagues from JPL on the development of a miniaturized acoustic probe to investigate near-surface sediment structure on Mars, and he is developing an ultra-strong and wear-resistant diamond-impregnated TiC/TiB2 alloy for a miniaturized drill bit to work from JPL’s Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller/Corer (USDC). USDC has already been demonstrated as a feasible tool for Mars deployment.