Born Roberta Lynn Bondar on December 4, 1945, Sault St. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Her parents were, Edward and Mildred Bondar; her father was an office manager for the Sault St. Marie Public Utilities Commission and her mother was as a professor of business and economics. Roberta had an older sister, Barbara, born a year earlier in 1944. She was also given a camera when she was young, which ignited an interest in photography. Roberta was also heavily involved in extracurricular activities including sports, Girl Guides, YMCA and church youth groups. As a young child, Roberta was fascinated by outer space, "When I was eight years old, to be a spaceman was the most exciting thing I could imagine." Her father built a laboratory in the basement of the family home, so she could conduct experiments. She attended Sir James Dunn Collegiate and Vocational School, where she led the science team to win the Canada Wide Science Fair, in Grade 12. During high school, Roberta spent summers working as a science researcher with the Federal Department of Fisheries & Forestry's. Her high school guidance counsellor tried to discourage her from pursuing a scientific career, as they didn't see it an appropriate career path for girls. Luckily, Roberta ignored that counsellor's advice.
She later attended the University of Guelph, where she received a Bachelor of Science in zoology and agriculture, in 1968. While at the university she also acquired a pilot's license. Roberta continued her higher education, getting a Master of science in experimental pathology from the University of Western Ontario, in 1971, a Ph.D in neuroscience from the University of Toronto, in 1974 and a Doctor of medicine from McMaster University, in 1977. After finishing her studies, Roberta worked as a clinical researcher and a neurologist. She completed her post-graduate work at the Toronto General Hospital and the University of Western Ontario, as well as a medical centre in Boston and a school in Seattle. Roberta was admitted as a Fellow to the Royal College of Physicians in 1981. From 1982-84, she was a professor of neurological medicine at McMaster University. Roberta has also served on the Ontario premier's Council on Science & Technology and an aviation medical examiner.
In 1983, the National Research Centre Council of Canada created the Canadian Astronaut Program (now part of the Canadian Space Agency), to recruit Canada's first astronauts. Roberta jumped to apply almost instantaneously. After 6 months of interviews and tests, Roberta was handpicked out of 4300 to be one of the lucky 6 to go into the new space program. Her research and clinical work on the nervous system was directly applicable to some of the experiments planned for the Canada's first spaceflight. In February 1984, Roberta moved to Ottawa to begin her astronaut training, eventually transferring to Houston, Texas. When she was in training, she also held a number of positions at a variety of Canadian universities and hospitals. And claimed a place as a key player in the Canadian space industry. In 1985, she was named chairperson of Parliament's Canadian Life Sciences Subcommittee for the Space Station.
In early 1990, Roberta was designated prime payload specialist for the 1st International Microgravity Laboratory Mission (IML-1); payload specialists are specialized crew members who carry out the mission's specific purpose, in Roberta's case this involved life science and material experiments. She had worked with scientists in over 15 other countries to formulate the experiments she would perform. Her original launch was planned for December 1990, but was delayed several times. Training involved preparing for the physical toll of space travel, practicing experiments and rehearsing escape and emergency procedures.
The historic day finally came on January 22, 1992, Roberta Bondar was the first Canadian woman and only the 2nd Canadian in space, she was also the first neurologist. She flew on the space shuttle, Discovery and was the only Canadian and the only woman out of 7 crew members of NASA Mission STS-42. The mission was initially planned to take 10 days, but due to shuttle repairs, the trip had to be shortened to only a week. On the 6th day after the launch, enough fuel was left to extend the trip another day. The payload specialists began their work 3 hours after lift-off, working in 12 hour shifts to get the experiments done on time. During the mission, Roberta and the other specialist performed over 40 experiments, to pave the way for longer spaceflights in the future. Data acquired during the mission would take years to analyze. The crew was also trained to take photographs of Earth from outer space, this was a task Roberta particularly enjoyed as a photography enthusiast.
After just under 130 orbits around Earth, the Discovery landed in California on January 30, 1992. The crew than underwent tests to see how their bodies readjusted to earthly conditions after spending several days in zero gravity. Roberta left the Canadian Space Agency on September 4, 1992. But she continued her research into space medicine and led NASA research teams, studying data gathered on spaceflights, to apply to medicine on Earth.
After her retirement, Roberta enrolled at the Brooks Institute of Photography in California, to study nature photography. She published a book of her experiences as an astronaut called, Touching the Earth, in 1994. The following year she published the children's book, On the Shuttle: Eight Days in Space, co-written with her sister, Barbara. Roberta has gone on to hold many national and international photography exhibitions and published 3 other books of photography including, Passionate Vision (2000), which documents Canadian national parks.
In 2003, Roberta was nominated chancellor of Trent University, she held the position for 2 terms until 2009. That year she founded the Roberta Bondar Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to educate people about environmental protection through art. She donated many of her personal photographs to the foundation's exhibition and educational collections. She is till on the board of directors.
Roberta's many achievements have earned her both national and international praise. In Canada, there have been schools, resource centres and scholarships named after her. She was featured on a Canadian postage stamp as part of a special astronaut series. Roberta was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2011 and was nominated as a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2018, the highest civilian honor in Canada. Some of her other awards and achievements are: Honorary Life Member of Girl Guides of Canada (1986), Honorary Doctor of Law at University of Calgary (1992) & University of Regina (1992) and Honorary Doctor of Science from Memorial University of Newfoundland (1993), University of PEI (1994) & Carlton University (1993).
Side notes:
Neurologist- a doctor who specializes in the nervous system ie. brain, nerves, spine.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/roberta-bondar
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Women in Science, Medicine and Mathematics
Non-FictionWomen who have contributed to the fields of science, medicine and math. They paved the way for future generations, made groundbreaking discoveries, many times while being outshone or downtrodden by their male counterparts.
