Roberta Bondar* (FRCGS)
1945- | Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

By Jill Heinerth
RCGS Explorer-in-Residence 

Her fresh-pressed tan flight suit was adorned with new Canadian space emblems that matched her red turtleneck. It was in 1983, as I graduated from high school, that I got to see what a Canadian woman astronaut looked like. That might seem inconsequential today, but when the National Research Council of Canada created the Canadian Astronaut Program and selected Roberta Bondar in the first class, I was elated. Here was an example of a woman exploring her fullest potential in a male-dominated niche. Of 4,300 applicants for the first crew spots, only 11 per cent were women. 

In the photo, Bondar just looks like part of the team, outfitted in the same flight suit as her five male colleagues. But she had already blasted through the glass ceiling of space. Serving as the first neurologist in orbit, her expertise would be instrumental to medical research both on and off Earth. 

In January 1992, she flew on Space Shuttle Discovery while Canadians celebrated their second fellow citizen in space. But that eight-day mission encouraged more than an interest in space flight and the study of medicine: it stimulated new explorations in artistic expression. After her career in space, Bondar studied nature photography at the celebrated Brooks Institute of Photography, Calif., later publishing several books and participating in national and international photographic exhibitions. She also established The Roberta Bondar Foundation, a non-profit that supports conservation and environmental stewardship through art. 

Roberta Bondar’s example has inspired a new generation of multi-disciplinary explorers who are able to communicate about our natural world through talents that merge the science of the extremes with fine art. It was her exploration of outer space that inspired me to dive deep into the planet, exploring the water-filled recesses and deep oceans of inner space.  

*Representing all Canadian astronauts. Since the country’s space program was founded in 1983, 14 Canadians have earned spots as CSA astronauts, flying on 17 missions and frequently serving in mission control and other critical roles.