UAlberta experiment launched into space by NASA

NASA recently launched a rocket carrying experiments developed by teams from nine universities and colleges—including from the University of Alberta—earlier this month. UAlberta project manager Eric Halliwell told CBC that only US citizens are permitted to be on the NASA campus, but that the UAlberta team was granted an exception; CBC adds that UAlberta is the first postsecondary institution outside of the United States to be included in this program. The UAlberta project is focused on understanding the sun’s effect on Earth’s atmosphere. “This sort of fundamental physics work is essential to us populating other parts of the solar system and getting off this floating rock we all live on,” said Halliwell.