Roberta Lynn Bondar (; born December 4, 1945) is a Canadian astronaut, neurologist and consultant. She is Canada's first female astronaut and the first neurologist in space. After more than a decade as head of an international space medicine research team collaborating with NASA, Bondar became a consultant and speaker in the business, scientific, and medical communities. Roberta Bondar has received many honours including appointment as a Companion of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario, the NASA Space Flight Medal, over 28 honorary degrees, induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, the International Women's Forum Hall of Fame and a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. Early life and education Bondar was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on December 4, 1945. Her father, who worked for the Sault Ste. Marie Public Utilities Commission, is of Ukrainian descent, and her mother, an educator, is of English descent. Bondar's love of the sciences began as a child. Her father built a lab in the basement where she frequently conducted experiments. Bondar dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Because of her determination to prove her capability as a woman, Bondar received an extensive education. Bondar graduated from Sir James Dunn High School in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Science in zoology and agriculture from the University of Guelph (1968), a Master of Science in experimental pathology from the University of Western Ontario (1971), a Doctor of Philosophy in neuroscience from the University of Toronto (1974), and a Doctor of Medicine from McMaster University (1977). Part of Bondar's undergraduate research experience includes working with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Forestry. Career As one of the first six members of the Canadian Astronaut Corps selected in 1983, Bondar began astronaut training in 1984, and in 1992 she was designated Payload Specialist for the first International Microgravity Laboratory Mission (IML-1). Bondar flew on the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery during Mission STS-42, January 22–30, 1992, during which she performed over 40 experiments in the Spacelab. Her work studying the effects of low-gravity situations on the human body allowed NASA to prepare astronauts for long stays in the space station. After her astronaut career, Bondar led an international team of researchers at NASA for more than a decade, examining data obtained from astronauts on space missions to better understand the mechanisms underlying the body's ability to recover from exposure