YORKTON - A NASA project has a connection to the University of Alberta, and to a student with ties to Yorkton.’
Micah Lim was born and raised in the Philippines, but moved to Yorkton with her family when she was 13. She graduated from Sacred Heart High School in 2019, and moved to Edmonton to pursue undergraduate studies, and is currently a fourth year Electrical Engineering student at the University of Alberta.
And from there Lim has become involved in a project that will take equipment she has been working on into space.
“The Space Physics Department at the University of Alberta is on track to fly a payload for the Radiation Impact on Climate and Atmospheric Loss Satellite (RADICALS) mission, scheduled to launch in 2027,” explained Lim.
“Space and launch environments can be unpredictable, hence the Space Physics team decided that a technical demonstration was needed to ensure that their instruments would perform as expected. This is how PEPPER-X was born. As a student-led project under NASA’s RockSat-X program, PEPPER-X was initiated to support the Space Physics team’s mission, giving them a chance to oversee the entire process on a smaller scale and within a shorter timeline.
“By building a simpler version of the RADICALS payload, we were given a chance to gain hands-on experience in designing, building, and testing our own payloads.
“We also gained experience in presenting technical information during our reviews with NASA. We advanced through conceptual, preliminary, and critical design reviews, where NASA examined our payload designs, and through system and integrated subsystem reviews, where we presented our test results after our building phase. We also had to present our full mission simulation before travelling to Wallops Flight Facility, to ensure that our experiment is built, integrated, and operational.
“Overall, it was a great learning experience for all of us.”
There is data to be collected and knowledge to be gained too.
“Our experiment is focused on understanding the drivers behind electron microburst precipitation,” Lim said in an interview with Yorkton This Week. “This is the sudden loss of high-energy electrons, typically from the Van Allen radiation belts, to the Earth’s atmosphere. Electron microburst precipitation can cause damage to satellite systems, as the high-energy electrons can penetrate spacecraft shielding. High-energy particle precipitation can also lead to the depletion of radiation belts, which can negatively impact life on Earth through effects such as increased radiation exposure and disruption of communication systems.
“Our team, Payload for Energetic Particle Precipitation Education and Research - eXperiment (PEPPER-X), developed a new scientific experiment consisting of two instruments: a μ-High Energy Particle Telescope (μHEPT) and a Single-axis Search Coil Magnetometer (SCM). These instruments allow us to make scientific measurements that will help us to better understand the factors driving electron microburst precipitation.
“By understanding this phenomenon, we can develop more robust space systems and mitigate the risks associated with these particles.”
So what does the group hope to learn?
“Aside from gaining a better understanding of energetic particle precipitation, the team also hopes to prepare students for a career in the aerospace industry,” said Lim. “One of the goals of this project is to expose students to the end-to-end engineering process in the context of an aerospace mission. Hands-on experiences are critical to an engineering student’s career, as it can provide us insights that we can apply for better design practices and improved problem-solving skills.”
Naturally the opportunity to be part of the project excited Lim.
“I was more than thrilled to learn that I'd be working on this project,” she said.
“I've always been interested in aerospace, but I didn’t have opportunities to explore those interests when I was growing up in the Philippines. Moving to Canada opened a lot of doors for me, and this opportunity was one of them.
“Learning that I would be working on an aerospace project was a dream come true for me.”
The project also expanded her education.
“Another thing I was looking forward to was the chance to work on a technical engineering project for the first time,” said Lim. “I didn’t grow up building things, and I wasn’t really a kid who tinkered with toys. I didn’t even like math when I was younger.
“My interest in engineering came later in my academic life, when I realized how fun and exciting it can be to solve problems after taking AP calculus classes at Sacred Heart High School. It was there that I realized math was fun, and that I could excel in it given the appropriate instruction and support.
“Those AP math classes led me to eventually finding engineering in university.
“PEPPER-X, then, became the first project I worked on. It was both exciting and intimidating for me to learn that I would be working alongside experienced and knowledgeable engineers and scientists.”
Now that some time has passed and PEPPER-X is in space – the experiment was launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, USA on August 13, 2024, at approximately 6 am EDT -- what does it mean to Lim to have been part of the team?
“It’s incredible to see the project finally come to fruition,” she said. “We dedicated 16 months or so to this project and every moment of it was worth it.
“I grew a lot as an engineering student, and improved my technical and interpersonal skills. I learned how to solder, troubleshoot/test electrical systems, and manufacture mechanical parts. I also learned how to work and communicate with team members regarding technical issues.
“From the numerous design reviews we had with NASA, I learned how to convey and present technical information to others.
“My supervisors provided me invaluable mentorship, and my teammates were always willing to answer my questions, no matter how simple or complex the answers may be. I’m deeply grateful to have been part of an amazing team filled with such talented and bright individuals.
“I can genuinely say that I am a completely different person after having finished this project. The way I approach problems and technical concepts has evolved. Being part of this team and the RockSat-X program has truly made all the difference.
So, what is next in terms of the project?
“We are currently writing our final report for RockSat-X, where we are summarizing everything we’ve done and learned throughout the project,” said Lim. “We are also analyzing the scientific observations from our flight data, and we will be including these results in our report.
“PEPPER-X also serves as a valuable technical demonstration for a similar, but more advanced payload that will be part of the Radiation Impact on Climate and Atmospheric Loss Satellite (RADICALS) mission, scheduled to launch in 2027. The insights we gained from this tech demonstration will be helpful in reducing the risks in the development of the RADICALS payload.
“Additionally, we hope our experience inspires other students to work on or be more involved in aerospace projects. Having been the first Canadian team in Rocksat-X, we hope that our collaborations will continue to grow to provide students with more opportunities to gain experience in aerospace.”
Ultimately Lim said she “would like to thank the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) for their financial support through the FAST grant, as the team’s achievements would not have been possible without it. I also want to acknowledge the University of Alberta’s Space Physics Department for their continued guidance throughout this project.
“Additionally, I’d like to recognize our technical advisors, whose instruction and expertise were instrumental in the success of this project.”
