With more than 60 clubs and teams available at McMaster Engineering, every student can find something that interest them. This is particularly true for students interested in the space sector.
Here are five clubs and teams that inspire students to shoot for the stars.
McMaster Experimental Reduced Gravity Team (MERGE)
McMaster Experimental Reduced Gravity Team (MERGE) is a club dedicated to helping students compete in the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space’s (SEDS Canada) CAN-RGX competition, where they propose, design and test a scientific experiment aboard a reduced gravity aircraft.
The team conducted research in microgravity a custom experiment during two flight campaigns, sponsored by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), National Research Council of Canada (NRC), and the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS-Canada)
McMaster Interdisciplinary Satellite Team
The McMaster Interdisciplinary Satellite Team (MIST) is comprised of dedicated researchers, professors and aspiring engineering and science students. The team designs, fabricates and launches small satellites into low Earth orbit to investigate the effects of ionizing radiation on the human body and planet Earth.
Supported by the Canadian Space Agency through the Canadian CubeSat Project (CCP) and CubeSats Initiative in Canada for STEM (CUBICS), MIST offers McMaster students a unique opportunity to enrich their academic experience through hands-on learning.
Currently, they’re focused on the development of the Pitch REsolving Spectroscopy for Electron Transport (PRESET) mission, an innovative CubeSat aiming to study electron behavior within the Van Allen Belts and its impact on Earth’s protective atmosphere.
McMaster Rocketry Team
McMaster Rocketry designs, builds and launches high power rockets. The team consists of over 40 engineering undergraduate and graduate members in all disciplines. Members get hands-on learning opportunities in research, design, analysis, fabrication and testing.
In 2022 the team successfully launched their rocket, Marauder I, to three kilometres altitude at the inaugural Launch Canada Competition.
They are the only Canadian team to make a student researched and designed solid rocket motor.
McMaster Mars Rover Team
McMaster Mars Rover Team (MMRT) is a multidisciplinary initiative that designs and constructs a working rover to compete in the Canadian International Rover Challenge and University Rover Challenge. The team provides students with the opportunity to apply technical, hands-on engineering skills and knowledge and become the next generation of leaders, scientists and innovators in the aerospace industry.
The team, made up of 80 students, won first place in Canada and fourth overall at the sixth annual Canadian International Rover Challenge in Drumheller, Alberta.
McMaster Planetary Society
The McMaster Planetary Society strives to connect students from different backgrounds and programs to a variety of opportunities within the space sector. The club equips students with the information and experiences required to pursue their interests in the space sectors that they are interested in, while also getting introduced to new and unique areas of space they may never have heard about.
Events hosted by the society include their annual Space Industry Night, Women in Space Panel, planetarium shows and more.
Learn more about space at McMaster Engineering.