Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Education: Bachelor’s, environmental geography Master’s, geography (fluvial geomorphology) Ph.D., geography (periglacial geomorphology & comparative planetology) Directorate: Space Exploration Projects at the CSA: OSIRIS-REx, Mars Sample Return Simulation “My job is basically science fiction. I’m helping find ways to shoot lasers at asteroids; I can’t believe I’m paid to do that! I’m also on an international committee that’s developing the plan for how we would deal with Mars samples if and when such samples are returned to Earth. So we’re making recommendations on behalf of Planet Earth! I’ve been a space nut since I was a kid. I grew up on a farm in rural Saskatchewan. My closest neighbour was three miles away, and it was my grandmother! I used to sit on my deck at night and stare at the sky, this beautiful blanket of stars. I still feel like a little kid. There’s still the wonder and there’s still the hope and there’s still the excitement about what we’re doing and where we’re going.” @ Canadian Space Agency Tim Haltigin is a geomorphologist, in other words a scientist studying why landscapes look the way they do. Since the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft launched towards asteroid Bennu in September 2016, he has managed the Canadian laser instrument that will map the asteroid to help identify the best place for the spacecraft to collect a sample for return to Earth. Tim is the classic case of “follow your passion”. He first studied biochemistry, researching malaria at the Toronto General Hospital. He switched to geography and did his Master’s on Trout River habitat rehabilitation, hydraulics and fluid dynamics. After participating for fun with friends in a European Space Agency contest on how to find water on Mars, he was recruited by the professor supervising their contest team to do a Ph.D. on permafrost, comparing landscapes in the Canadian high Arctic with similar ones on Mars. Copy of  “Tim Haltigin – Senior Mission Scientist, Planetary Exploration” available at http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/humans/tim-haltigin.asp © Canadian Space... Read more

Date of birth: January 6, 1970 Born: Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada Motto: Anything worth doing is worth doing right Pastimes: David is a lifelong mountaineer, cyclist, skier and avid sailor Background: Engineer, astrophysicist, family doctor Flight certification: Commercial pilot license with multi-engine and instrument ratings Education: Bachelor of engineering in engineering physics; Ph.D. in astrophysics; medical degree Languages: French and English, and basic Russian, Spanish and Japanese Mission: Expedition 58 Personal Data: Born on January 6, 1970, in Quebec City, Canada, and raised in Saint-Lambert near Montreal, Canada. He is married and has three children. He is a lifelong mountaineer, cyclist, skier and avid sailor. He also holds a commercial pilot licence with multi-engine and instrument ratings and an advanced scuba-diving licence. Saint-Jacques is fluent in English and French and can also converse in Russian, Spanish and Japanese. Education: Saint-Jacques earned a bachelor of engineering in engineering physics from École polytechnique de Montréal, Canada (1993). He earned a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Cambridge University, UK (1998). He earned his M.D. from Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada (2005), and completed his family medicine residency at McGill University in Montreal, Canada (2007), where his training focused on first-line, isolated medical practice. Organizations: Collège des médecins du Québec, College of Family Physicians of Canada, Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, International Society for Optics and Photonics, Life Fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, Aerospace Medical Association, Wilderness Medical Society. Special Honours: Royal Canadian Geographical Society Gold Medal (2014), Médaille d'honneur de l'Assemblée nationale du Québec (2013), Canada Millennium Scholarship (2001 to 2005), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Post-doctoral Fellowship (1999 to 2001), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada "1967" Science and Engineering Scholarship (1994 to 1998), Canadian Space Agency Supplement Scholarship (1994 to 1998), Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Honorary Scholar (1994 to 1998), United Kingdom Overseas Research Student Award (1994 to 1998), Canada... Read more

Date of birth: August 3, 1988 Born: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Motto: Fortune favors the brave Pastimes: cycling, rugby, and teaching Background: Mechanical engineer, combustion scientist, and lecture Education: Bachelor in mechanical engineering; Ph.D. in engineering (combustion) Languages: English, basic French Mission: Astronaut Candidate Training Program Personal Data: Born August 3, 1988, in Calgary, Alberta. Dr. Sidey-Gibbons enjoys cycling, rugby and teaching. Education: Dr. Sidey-Gibbons holds an honours bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec (2011). While at McGill, she conducted research on flame propagation in microgravity in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the National Research Council Flight Research Laboratory. She then moved to the United Kingdom (UK) to earn a Ph.D. in engineering with a focus on combustion from the University of Cambridge (2015). Organizations: University of Cambridge Special Honours: Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award (2016); Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) Young Engineer of the Year Award (2016). Meet “Jenni” Prior to joining the Canadian Space Program, Dr. Sidey-Gibbons worked as an assistant professor in internal combustion engines at the Department of Engineering of the University of Cambridge. The focus of her research was flames, how we use them, and how to stop them from emitting harmful pollutants. Precisely, she worked on the development of low-emission combustors for gas turbine engines. She also taught undergraduate and graduate students in the Energy, Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery Division on topics ranging from conventional and alternative energy production to introductory thermodynamics and flame physics.  Aside from these formal responsibilities, she also actively acted as a role model for... Read more