Tim Haltigin, son of Linda Osachoff, has enjoyed science ever since he was a youngster in Canora.
He pursued that interest as time went on and is now the Senior Mission Scientist in Planetary Exploration at the Canadian Space Agency.
Haltigin lives in St.Constant, Quebec, with his wife Melissa and their daighters, Nora and Sasha.
He said he is presently the Canadian project scientist and mission manager of the OSIRIS-REx mission to collect samples from an asteroid named Bennu and bring it back to Earth.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an incredibly exciting mission for a number of reasons,鈥� said Haltigin. 鈥淚t鈥檚 basically allowing us to go back in time by over four billion years to understand the makeup of the early solar system, and possibly get clues as to how life started on Earth. Plus, we get to shoot lasers at asteroids.鈥�
For the mission, Canada is contributing an instrument called the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA.)
鈥淭he OLA works like a 3D scanner, using lasers to measure Bennu鈥檚 shape accurately,鈥� said Haltigin. 鈥淲e need to know the shape of the asteroid extremely well so that we can help identify sites where it鈥檚 safe for the spacecraft to collect the samples. Canada is supporting a number of scientists on the mission who will help interpret all the data we collect at the asteroid and study the samples when they come back to Earth. In return for our participation, Canada will receive some of the samples.鈥�
Haltigin鈥檚 responsibilities on the mission include overall operations of OLA, coordinating the contributions of the Canadian science team, and ensuring the reception of the Canadian portion of the samples.
The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at Bennu in December and create a 3D map of the asteroid.
鈥淲e鈥檒l spend about a year using all of the instruments on the spacecraft to understand Bennu鈥檚 shape, geological composition, and physical properties,鈥� he said. 鈥淏etween now and next December we鈥檒l be taking different measurements from distances between 7 kilometres and 225 metres away to help select where we鈥檙e going to collect the sample from. Afterwards, we鈥檒l spend about 6 months practicing getting the spacecraft closer and closer to the asteroid, and finally collecting the samples in July of 2020.鈥�
Haltigin said the distance from the earth to Bennu 鈥渄epends on when you look.鈥�
Based on its orbit, its distance to Earth can range from being closer than the moon to over twice the distance from the Earth to the Sun.
Since Bennu only measures about 500 metres in diameter, its gravity isn鈥檛 strong enough to land a spacecraft, Haltigin explained.
鈥淚nstead, we鈥檒l collect the sample by extending an arm from the spacecraft and slowly flying in to make contact with the surface,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hink of it like giving Bennu a gentle high five.鈥�
Haltigin said bringing back samples from this asteroid is an importance advancement in science.
鈥淎steroids are like cosmic time capsules that have preserved the chemistry of the early solar system,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the leftovers of materials that went into making the planets in the beginning. By studying these samples, we鈥檒l be able to better understand the raw ingredients of planets, and possibly even get clues as to how life started on Earth.鈥�
Haltigin expects the benefits of this mission will continue to be realized decades into the future.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be able to ask questions we don鈥檛 know how to ask yet and answer them with technologies that don鈥檛 yet exist.鈥� He said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still making brand new discoveries on lunar samples almost 50 years after the Apollo astronauts brought them back from the moon. Imagine what we鈥檙e going to be able to do 50 years from now. This mission is paving the careers for generations of Canadian scientists, and I鈥檓 incredibly proud to be a part of it.鈥�
Haltigin has been interested in science for most of his life, going back to when he attended Canora Composite School
鈥淧art of it was going outside at night on the farm and just looking up at the sky. I was always filled with that sense of wonder, trying to understand what was out there and how we could explore it. That鈥檚 still one of my favorite things about coming home to Canora; you just don鈥檛 get skies like that anywhere else,鈥� he recalled.
Haltigin said his career path has turned out to be anything but a straight line. In university he started by studying why malaria became resistant to certain medications, and then moved to designing structures to put in rivers to help fix trout habitats.
鈥淎fter that I did a PhD comparing landscapes in the Canadian arctic with similar ones on Mars, and got hired by the Canadian Space Agency just after I finished,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ince then I鈥檝e been really lucky to work on concepts and actual flight missions for the moon, Mars, and asteroids.鈥�
Haltigin said his goal is to ensure that Canada plays key roles on missions throughout the solar system in the future.
He encourages students to find something that interests them, work hard and have fun doing it.
鈥淪cience isn鈥檛 about the ability to come up with all the answers, it鈥檚 about the ability to ask questions. We get stuff wrong all the time, but it鈥檚 learning from those mistakes that helps us ask a better question the next time. And more than anything, never stop being curious. There鈥檚 always something cool waiting to be discovered,鈥� he concluded.
