This past summer, the NASA space shuttle Endeavour took its 25th and final voyage to the International Space Station to deploy a device called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a cosmic ray particle detector that scientists hope will help make breakthroughs in our understanding of dark matter, anti-matter, and the origin of the universe.
Carried along for the ride into space was a Canadian flag and a ceramic tile featuring William Osler’s coat of arms. This was presented to McGill by American astronaut Andrew Feustel in a ceremony last month.
![CoatOfArms](http://blogs.library.mcgill.ca/osler-library/files/2013/11/CoatOfArms-719x1024.jpg)
Osler’s coat of arms. He was knighted in 1911 and chose a beaver and a fleur-de-lis as armorial symbols to represent his Canadian heritage.
![Osler space tile 5](http://blogs.library.mcgill.ca/osler-library/files/2013/11/Osler-space-tile-5-1024x682.jpg)
Presentation of the tile to the Osler Library, with head librarian Chris Lyons and astronaut Drew Feustel.
![Osler space tile 2](http://blogs.library.mcgill.ca/osler-library/files/2013/11/Osler-space-tile-2-1024x683.jpg)
Osler head librarian Chris Lyons holding an artifact that has traveled 6.5 million miles in 248 orbits of the Earth.