Portal:Space exploration/Biography/Week 14 2007

Dr. Roberta Lynn Bondar, O.C., O.Ont, M.D., Ph.D, D.Sc, F.R.C.P.(C), Canada's first woman astronaut (born December 4, 1945, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.) She holds a B.Sc in zoology and agriculture from the University of Guelph (1968), an M.Sc in experimental pathology from the University of Western Ontario (1971), a Ph.D in neurobiology from the University of Toronto (1974), an MD from McMaster University (1977), and is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in neurology 1981.

She began astronaut training in 1984, and in 1990 was designated a prime Payload Specialist for the first International Microgravity Laboratory Mission (IML-1). Dr. Bondar flew on the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery during Mission STS-42, January 22-30 1992, during which she performed experiments in the Spacelab.

Dr. Bondar left the Canadian Space Agency in 1992 to pursue her research. She was appointed chancellor of Trent University in 2003.

Read more...