From the Mars rover landing, to the Red Bull Stratos space jump, to social media sensation Chris Hadfield, our fascination with space has achieved liftoff once again. Canadians were particularly excited to see Hadfield become the first Canadian Commander of the International Space Station, and the world was watching as he sent updates, photos and even his own music video to Earth via Twitter, Reddit and other social media channels.
Achievements in space tend to spark a renewed interest in science and technology among young people, so these events couldn’t come at a better time. Industries focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics will need more and more workers in the years to come due to increasing retirement numbers—and increasing investment in technology. The Canadian Space Agency agrees, saying that investment in space exploration provides many benefits to the population, but “the most notable [is] the creation of opportunities that instill in our youth a recognition and motivation that they, too, can play a role in future scientific and technological breakthroughs.”
Jeremy Hansen is one of two Canadian astronauts currently completing training for a potential mission to space. He was selected out of over 5,300 applicants when the CSA put out a call for new astronauts in 2009. We spoke to Hansen about future missions to space, and how students can follow his path.
Career Options: What inspired you to become an astronaut?
Jeremy Hansen: That goes back a long way. I guess I’ve been inspired by initially the moon landings when I was a young child and looking at pictures of astronauts standing on the moon. That really opened my perspective of what was possible. I looked at the night sky and the moon and said, “Wow. People stood right there.” So that really motivated me as a child. As I went through time and learned more about space programs and what they offer, I realized that exploration is really part of our human spirit and it’s important to learn and continue to push our boundaries.
CO: How did you get to where you are today?
JH: Well, one step at a time. For me the most important thing is doing something you love to do in life—to find out your passion. I was passionate about flying. I joined Air Cadets and I was awarded a couple of flying scholarships. It taught me to be a leader, taught me self-confidence, and eventually I joined the Royal Canadian Air Force where I flew CF-18s. Then, five years ago, the Canadian Space Agency was looking for new astronauts, so I applied. And one thing I should mention is school—in the military, you have to have a university degree. I went to the Royal Military College of Canada and got a bachelor of science in space science and a master of science in physics.
CO: What do you like most about your work?
JH: There are a lot of things I love about this job. Big picture wise is the diversity of the things that you do. Some days I’m scuba diving, some days I’m doing space walk training. I spend a lot of time learning how to speak Russian to fly Russian rockets. Sometimes I’m in mission control in Houston. Every day you’re doing something different and I love that. Recently I was in the Arctic learning how to be a field geologist, which is relevant to eventually learn how to explore other planets like Mars.
CO: What is a typical day on the job for an astronaut?
JH: There is no typical day. But we have schedulers who fill up our week with all the different aspects of astronaut training. The three core aspects are space walk training, which is very challenging but rewarding, then Canadarm training, and the third would be learning the space station systems. The International Space Station is an enormously complex vehicle; it’s quite complex to keep it operating. We end up doing a lot of maintenance to keep it running.
CO: Why is space exploration important?
JH: We just had a Canadian come back from space, Chris Hadfield, who did something very important—he shared the perspective that space exploration gives us. The feeling of what it’s like to leave our planet and look back at it. It made us realize, I’m sitting on a rock in space. There’s quite a bit of water and this tiny bubble of air. When you look at it from Chris’s perspective, there’s just a tiny bubble of air that allows us to live. There are many important things with respect to technology and science, but more importantly than anything it gives perspective.
CO: Will you use social media when you’re in space like Chris did?
JH: We’ve used social media as a great tool for bringing people along on the adventures we go on. It’s a very important tool, it’s very exciting and it’s fairly new. We’re still looking for ways to use Twitter and whatever else comes next.
CO: What do you see for the future of the space program?
JH: We’re now seeing commercial companies for the first time developing space craft. If you look at the history of aviation, you see when commercial industry got into it, it took off. And now we can fly anywhere in the world in a matter of hours. So this really marks for me a turning point where more and more people will be flying in space. I think that’s pretty exciting.
CO: What advice do you have for students that want to get into the industry?
JH: I always tell people the most important thing is to find your passion, not follow someone else’s. When you find something you’re passionate about, you will excel at it and that will open up many opportunities. And the other thing I tell high school students is you need to challenge yourself. You can’t focus too much on one thing. Focus on academics but get out there and become a well-rounded citizen of society. That might mean youth groups, backpacking—things that push you and challenge you.
