University of Waterloo student Michelle Kao's co-op term experience with the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre (HAA) was out of this world!
Michelle spent 8 months working on software for Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and Ultraviolet Research (CASTOR), Canada's proposed flagship space telescope. She designed a survey planning and scheduling software tool that can double the telescope's observing efficiency and potentially save millions in operational costs.
In a study conducted before the first phase of the CASTOR mission, scientists proposed 14 legacy surveys designed to fill critical gaps in current astronomical data. CASTOR has a proposed 5-year mission lifespan and an estimated cost of $450 million—making every hour of operation incredibly important. To maximize CASTOR's scientific return, efficient survey planning and scheduling are essential. Michelle's tool helps finalize operational strategies and evaluate whether proposed science goals are achievable within engineering constraints and spacecraft limitations.
Simulating full mission operations, the tool continuously tracks the satellite's orbit, orientation and solar power generation. It assesses the feasibility of planned science goals based on target visibility, schedules spacecraft maneuvers and downlinks, and provides insights to enhance mission performance. Toward the end of her term, Michelle expanded the tool's capabilities to simulate the tracking of space objects near the Moon, extending its applications to space domain awareness and building on additional work she carried out while at the University of Manitoba.
"It is difficult to overestimate Michelle's contribution to the mission. She did a phenomenal job with every aspect of this challenging work," says Patrick Côté, Principal Research Officer at HAA working on the mission. "The CASTOR project owes her a debt of gratitude."
Outside the research lab, Michelle attended weekly seminars where astrophysicists presented their research. She looked forward to these seminars every week and was eager to learn about exciting space-based projects led by expert scientists. In November 2024, she had the opportunity to present her software tool to collaborators and industry partners from across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom during CASTOR's Technical Meeting hosted at HAA's Dominion Astrophysical Observatory.
"The friendly and supportive atmosphere at HAA gave me the confidence to take ownership of my work and the freedom to express my creativity," Michelle says.
In addition to her success at the NRC, her innovative contributions also earned her the Faculty of Science 2024 Co-op Student of the Year Award at the University of Waterloo, and the 2024 Experiential and Work-Integrated Learning Ontario Co-op Student of the Year Award.
Her time with the CASTOR team broadened her perspective on a career in astrophysics. It prompted her to rediscover her passions and realize the full potential of her astrophysics degree by using her strengths in physics, math, and coding to contribute to the space industry. She is working on a first-author paper introducing the planning and scheduling software tool that she designed for the CASTOR mission, with the goal of publishing it in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
"My collaborations with engineers and experts from different disciplines made me realize that the skills I learned from my astrophysics degree can have impactful applications beyond academia," Michelle explains. "This co-op term inspired me to be part of something larger than myself—working with like-minded individuals to turn ambitious ideas into reality."