Edmonton doctor set to be first Canadian woman to become a commercial astronaut
CBC
An Edmonton doctor is set to become the first Canadian woman to be a commercial astronaut.
Dr. Shawna Pandya told CBC the opportunity will fulfil her childhood dream
"I was lucky enough to be growing up in the 90s watching Canada's first female astronaut, Dr. Roberta Bondar, go to space," Pandya told CBC's Radio Active.
"And I thought, 'Hey, Canadian women can do that?'"
Only two women from Canada have been to space previously, though Jenni Gibbons will join their ranks in the near future.
Panda's first flight to space will be on a commercial mission, which is different from the missions with NASA.
Founded in 2015, the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) is a non-profit research and education organization that has conducted space missions since it was founded.
The IIAS-02 mission will be done in partnership with Virgin Galactic, which was founded by billionaire Richard Branson.
The company reached a deal with NASA in 2020 to boost commercial human space light.
Inspired by Bondar's historic journey as a neuroscientist, Pandya went on to become a physician, aquanaut and then bioastronautics researcher with the IIAS.
"I thought, I'll just study neuroscience, become a doctor, and then be an astronaut. And that's how simple it was in my childhood mind," Pandya said.
"And that's what I did. I studied neuroscience. I got my MD In at the University of Alberta, and now I'm going to space, which ... feels so surreal to say."
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The IIAS-02 Mission will likely be in a few years as spacecraft technology develops according to IIAS executive director Jason Reimuller.
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