Roberta Bondar

Roberta Bondar, born in 1945, neurologist, biologist, and the first Canadian female astronaut in space. During her mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1992, Bondar conducted studies related to weightlessness.

Roberta Lynn Bondar was born in Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, Canada. In 1968 she earned a bachelor's degree in zoology and agriculture from the University of Guelph, then went on to the University of Western Ontario to earn a master's degree in experimental pathology in 1971. She continued her graduate studies, completing a Ph.D. in neurobiology at the University of Toronto in 1974. Bondar then attended medical school at McMaster University and earned an M.D. in 1977. She became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada as a specialist in neurology in 1981. Bondar holds more degrees than any other person who has gone into space. In addition to her scholarly achievements, she is certified in scuba diving and parachuting and holds a private pilot's license.

After an internship in internal medicine at Toronto General Hospital, Bondar continued to train in neurology and neuro-ophthalmology. McMaster University appointed her assistant professor of neurology in 1982, and she became a member of the scientific staff at Sunnybrook Medical Centre in Toronto, Ontario, in 1988.

In 1983 the United States invited Canada to send astronauts on space shuttle missions. Bondar became one of the six original Canadian astronauts selected for the Canadian Space Program. She began astronaut training, which included basic scientific training as well as training in how to work aboard the shuttle, in 1984. In 1990 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected Bondar to be a payload specialist on a shuttle mission, meaning she would conduct scientific experiments in space. From January 22 to January 30, 1992, Bondar flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery mission STS-42, known as the first International Microgravity Laboratory Mission. On this mission, the shuttle carried Spacelab in its cargo bay, a fully equipped space laboratory developed by the European Space Agency. In Spacelab, Bondar conducted 43 experiments on behalf of 13 countries, studying how the human body and plants react to weightlessness.

Bondar left the Canadian Space Program in 1992 to return to her research, which involves studying the loss of physical fitness in astronauts who fly in space. She is a professor at the Centre for Advanced Technology Education (CATE) at Ryerson University in Toronto and a visiting professor in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Western Ontario. At both universities, she examines how weightlessness affects blood flow to the brain and how this knowledge might translate into the diagnosis and treatment of related diseases and injuries, such as Parkinson disease, stroke, or spinal cord injury. She promotes teamwork and overcoming challenges through motivational speaking tours.