STORIES
Explorers
DONATE

Roberta Bondar

by Alison from Mississauga

Roberta Bondar, The first Canadian<br> woman in space<br>(http://collections.ic.gc.ca/science/english/<br>bio/bondar.html)
Roberta Bondar, The first Canadian
woman in space
(http://collections.ic.gc.ca/science/english/
bio/bondar.html)

How many of you listened to your teacher's boring space talks in around grade six? Not many, eh? Well, one of the people who actually listened to those exceptionally dull rambles was Roberta Bondar.

University of Toronto<br> (U of T website )
University of Toronto
(U of T website )

Roberta Bondar started her education at the University of Guelph and got a degree in zoology and biology. After graduation in 1968, she went to the University of Western Ontario to get her master's degree. After that she went to the University of Toronto to get her Ph.D. Roberta Bondar then went to McMaster University for her medical degree. That’s a lot of education if you ask me, considering that it took her almost 15 years to do it.

NASA logo (Nasa website)
NASA logo (Nasa website)

In 1983 Roberta Bondar was chosen to become an astronaut out of thousands of other applicants. She was to begin her training at NASA. In 1990 she was chosen by NASA to be a Payload Specialist for a very special flight. This allowed her to be in charge of experiments which meant that she could discover the effects of weightlessness on the human body. She actually flew the space shuttle from January 22-30 in 1992!

Roberta Bondar showed an interest in how the eye works -- in scientific words, neuro-ophthalmology. She took her training in Boston and in Toronto. Also, she has a private pilot's license which lets her fly all over the place. I would personally like to fly to Hawaii.


If I met Roberta Bondar today, she would still say that she was proud of her accomplishments and of being one of the most important women on a space flight mission. She was determined to do her best and reach her goals. This is why Roberta Bondar is my hero!

Page created on 10/3/2008 3:24:40 PM

Last edited 10/3/2008 3:24:40 PM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Related Links

Roberta Bondar's Official Website
NASA - Read more about Roberta Bondar.
Diane Farris Gallery - This site features Roberta Bondar's photography and includes a biography.