Inspiration to Live Your Magic: 75 Inspiring Biographies

Roberta Bondar
Little did Roberta Bondar’s parents know when they watched her 
playing astronaut as a little girl that she would be Canada’s first 
woman in space, or that she would specialize in studying the effects of 
space flights on people’s brains.
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Can curiosity take you into outer space? Just ask Roberta Bondar.
Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Roberta loved learning how the world worked. 
Her favorite gifts were chemistry sets, and her favorite game was playing astronaut and 
exploring new worlds in her imagination. She wanted to know about everything, from 
plants to animals, art to science, sports to fantasy. So, Roberta kept studying and learning 
new things.
She took degrees in zoology and agriculture at university, but then got into medicine and 
ended up becoming a doctor of neurobiology, studying how our brains work. As she 
earned her medical degree, Roberta Bondar became interested in yet another new field - 
space medicine!
When Canada announced it was starting a space program and looking for potential 
astronauts, guess who had her application in the mail the next day? There were four 
thousand top-notch applicants, but Dr. Bondar had the right stuff - brains, fitness, and a 
love of exploration. She was one of just six people chosen to take astronaut training.
In 1992, Dr. Bondar blasted off aboard the U.S. Space Shuttle Discovery, becoming 
Canada’s first woman astronaut. She was also the first neurologist to go into space.

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After her mission, Roberta Bondar’s curiosity about life in space landed her a new job - 
heading up an international team studying the effects of space flight on people’s brains. 
And she worked with experts around the world to use her new knowledge to help treat 
diseases here on Earth.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bondar kept questioning, wondering, and getting excited about new 
topics. She became an expert photographer (her pictures have been shown at the National 
Gallery), an educator (Chancellor of Trent University), and a pilot.
Because she has done so many interesting things, Roberta Bondar is also a popular 
speaker and writer, sharing her love of learning and exploring.
Her accomplishments have won her a long list of awards and honors, including induction 
into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and the Order of Canada, and her picture has 
been on a Canadian postage stamp. Apparently, curiosity can take you into space . . . and 
to a lot of other interesting places too.
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