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.