Montreal students get hands-on look at careers in Canada’s growing space industry

A group of aspiring astronauts, engineers, and scientists spent Saturday looking toward the stars at Concordia University.

The event called “Astronaut for a Day” gave 40 students in Grades 5 through 8 the chance to take part in astronaut-style training while learning about careers in Canada’s space sector. Organized by Zenith Pathways and SEDS-ÉEDS Canada — two organizations dedicated to helping young people explore educational and career opportunities in the space sector — the day included workshops on space robotics, planetary science, navigation, emergency medical response and virtual reality space station operations.

For organizers, the event was about more than teaching students about space exploration.

“We need everyone,” said Mya McKinnon, president of SEDS-ÉEDS Canada. “We need artists, we need engineers, we need science communicators, we need scientists, we need every single field — we just want more passion.”

McKinnon said many young people immediately think of NASA when they picture the space industry, but organizers also wanted to highlight opportunities closer to home.

Students spent the day rotating through hands-on activities led by industry professionals, including a virtual reality experience that simulated life aboard a space station and a medical training session led by a search-and-rescue specialist.

Navi Ravikularam, a junior space systems engineer at MDA Space and a member of the event’s organizing committee, said the goal was to expose students to career paths that many may not encounter in school.

“Growing up, aerospace wasn’t really something that was promoted as much for students,” she said. “So, today, the message we really want to convey is that you don’t have to be an astronaut to work in the aerospace industry because space is for everyone.”

Future careers already taking shape

For many participants, career ambitions are already well established.

William Parkes, 11, said he has wanted to become an astronaut since he was six years old. One of the things that excites him most is the possibility of seeing Earth from orbit.

“It would be very cool to participate in a spacewalk — to travel at such fast speeds and then be able to just look at the Earth from 400 kilometers away,” he said.

Jayden Gioia is also passionate about all that touches the field. “I find it very fascinating — everything behind it: all the science and physics, I love it,” he said.

His friend, Joseph Spatola, said his interest in becoming a rocket scientist grew as he found out more about the career.

“Ever since I realized that this isn’t about building the rockets — but actually doing the science behind them,” he said.

Alex Constantinides, who is considering a future career in either engineering or medicine, said one of his favourite parts of the event was learning about the moon.

“Especially about the moon rocks and how they hold things from the past,” he said.

For Cara An Nguyen, it was another moon fact that fascinated her. “I was really surprised to find out that there’s ice on the moon,” she said.

Before heading home, students wrote postcards that will be sent to space and later returned to Earth — a small piece of spaceflight that organizers hope will inspire even bigger dreams.

Questions for astronauts

When asked what question the students would ask an astronaut, here’s what they had to say:

William Parkes: “What is your best memory from being in space? And what do you need most to become an astronaut?”

Jayden Gioia: “How do you do it — live up there, in space?”

Joseph Spatola: “How does it feel like to be one of the humans to have gone the furthest in space?”

Adrian Daou: “How many people told you that you couldn’t do it?”

Cara An Nguyen: “Is it scary when you jump on the moon and go so high up?”