Blazing trails in space and on Earth

Keri Ferguson
Western Alumni Gazette
Fall 2022

How Canada’s first female astronaut, Dr. Roberta Bondar, became one of Canada’s strongest advocates for our natural world.

Ferguson’s article includes nuggets and insights from Dr. Bondar’s groundbreaking journey on the International Microgravity Laboratory thirty years ago, through leading an international research team to study the effects of spaceflight on the human body, to her continued scientific research, today partnering with NASA as a principal investigator, focussed on how natural and human-inspired changes impact the safe passage of migratory birds.

Dr. Bondar’s current international project will offer a unique perspective on the lives of birds through images captured on land, by air and from space. Soon to find their new home in a travelling photo exhibit that will be part of the Protecting Space for Birds project initiative.