Some Canadians Are Really Out There!

Portrait Roberta Bondar (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“I would dream about being the first person on the moon, and taught myself the names of all the planets.” –Roberta  Bondar.

I’ve written about Chris Hadfield, we know about Marc Garneau, but today we celebrate the first Canadian woman astronaut Roberta Bondar!

Roberta Bondar was born in Sault St. Marie, Ontario on December 4, 1945.

Bondar holds a Bachelor of Science in zoology and agriculture (1968), a Master of Science in experimental pathology (1971), a Doctor of Philosophy in neuroscience (1974), and Doctor of Medicine (1977). She is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in neurology (1981), has certification in sky diving and parachuting, is a celebrated landscape photographer, (Bondar studied professional nature photography at the Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara, California).

She began astronaut training in 1984. Bondar flew on the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery, from January 22 to 30, 1992.

She is certainly leaving a legacy already: In her hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, the Roberta Bondar Park pavilion bears her name. She also has been honoured with a marker on Sault Ste. Marie’s Walk of Fame. In 1996, the Dr. Roberta Bondar Public School was opened in Ajax, Ontario and Roberta Bondar Public School were  opened in Ottawa, Ontario. In 2005, another public school named Roberta Bondar Public School opened in Brampton, Ontario. There is also Dr. Roberta Bondar Elementary School in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and Dr. Roberta Bondar Public School in Maple (Vaughan), Ontario.

This is just the bare minimum. To learn more about Roberta Bondar, you should begin at her official website. Then go to Sault Ste. Marie History page.

Good places to start. There’s so much more out there :>

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