Shawna Pandya
Dr. Shawna Pandya is a physician, scientist-astronaut candidate program graduate with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences/Project PoSSUM, aquanaut, speaker, martial artist, advanced diver, skydiver, pilot-in-training, VP Immersive Medicine with Luxsonic Technologies, Director of Medical Research at Orbital Assembly Construction, and Fellow of the Explorers’ Club. She is also Director of the International Institute of Astronautical Sciences (IIAS)/PoSSUM Space Medicine Group, Chief Instructor of the IIAS/PoSSUM Operational Space Medicine course, a clinical lecturer at the University of Alberta, podcast host with the World Extreme Medicine’s WEMCast series, Primary Investigator (PI) for the Shad Canada-Blue Origin student microgravity competition, member of the ASCEND 2021 Guiding Coalition, and Life Sciences Team Lead for the Association of Spaceflight Professionals. She serves as a medical advisor to several space, medical and technology companies. Dr. Pandya was part of the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in zero-gravity in 2015. She earned her aquanaut designation during the 2019 NEPTUNE (Nautical Experiments in Physiology, Technology and Underwater Exploration) mission. She previously served as Commander during a 2020 tour at the Mars Desert Research Station. In 2021, Dr. Pandya was granted an Honorary Fellowship in Extreme and Wilderness Medicine by the World Extreme Medicine organization and named one of the Women’s Executive Network’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, as well as a Canadian Space Agency Space Ambassador. Her career and trajectory have been captured at the Ontario Science Center’s “Canadian Women in Space,” exhibit, alongside Dr. Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman in space (and Dr. Pandya’s idol growing up).
3 words to describe Nature?
Vast. Inspiring. Infinite
3 things Nature taught you?
To be in the moment
To be prepared
That everything else can wait
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The Canadian Rockies
Hapuna Beach, Kona, Hawaii
The sunset over the pond behind my parents' house
When you look at the OCEAN, it makes you feel...?
At peace, knowing that I am one tiny part of infinity.
When you see a FOREST, it makes you feel...?
Like I am at the start of an adventure.
When you see a VOLCANO, it makes you feel...?
Full of awe at nature's power.
When you see a SUNRISE or SUNSET, it makes you feel...?
Grateful and satisfied to be able to have that moment to appreciate.
When you hear THUNDER, it makes you feel...?
Excited for the subsequent storm.
When you hear the WIND HOWLING, it makes you feel...?
Like I am in a mystery or adventure novel!
Are you an OCEAN, MOUNTAIN, FOREST, or DESERT person?
All of the above
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was 14, we went on a survival camp. My best friend and I were only 2 of a handful of girls in a class of over 35. We proudly built and slept in one of the best lean-tos, and managed to keep a fire going all night. We also went caving on that same trip!
Dr. Sian Proctor
Dr. Sian Proctor is a geoscientist, explorer, space artist, and science communication specialist with a passion for space exploration. She was selected as the pilot on the SpaceX Crew Dragon mission Inspiration4, planned for late 2021.
She appeared on The Colony Season 2, which was aired on The Discovery Channel in 2010, in the 2016 PBS series Genius By Stephen Hawking on "Episode 2: Are We Alone?” and is currently featured on the science show Strange Evidence. On July 22, 2020, Dr Proctor was announced as one of the top-15 finalists of UAE Mars Shot contest. She was recently selected as one of The Explorer’s Club 50: Fifty People Changing the World.
She uses her AfronautSpace art to encourage conversations about women of color in the space industry. She’s an analog astronaut and has completed four analog missions including the all-female SENSORIA Mars 2020 mission at the Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Habitat, the NASA funded 4-months Mars mission at HI-SEAS, a 2-weeks Mars mission at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), and a 2-weeks Moon mission in the LunAres Habitat.
Dr. Proctor was a finalist for the 2009 NASA Astronaut Program and got down to the Yes/No phone call which came from Astronaut Sunita Williams.
She has a TEDx talk called Eat Like a Martian and published the Meals for Mars Cookbook. Dr. Proctor is a continuing NASA Solar System Ambassador and serves on the Explore Mars Board of Directors, JustSpace Alliance Advisory Board, the Science in the Wild Advisory Board, the SEDS USA Advisory Board, and the National Science Teaching Association’s Aerospace Advisory Board.
In 2019, she was the science communication outreach officer on the JOIDES Resolution Expedition 383 and spent 2-months at sea with researchers investigating the Dynamics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. She also participated in the 2-week faculty development seminar Exploring Urban Sustainability in India. She was a 2017 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Teacher at Sea, a 2016 Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassador (ACEAP), and a 2014 PolarTREC Teacher investigating climate change in Barrow, Alaska. She is a Major in the Civil Air Patrol and serves as a member of the Arizona Wing Aerospace Education Officer.
3 words to describe Nature?
Transformative. Spiritual. Breathtaking
3 things Nature taught you?
Focus
Determination
Resiliency
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Standing by the ocean
Flying looking out the window
Standing on a mountain summit
When you look at the OCEAN, it makes you feel...?
Happy
When you see a FOREST, it makes you feel...?
Overwhelmed by life
When you see a VOLCANO, it makes you feel...?
In awe of the geologic time
When you see a SUNRISE or SUNSET, it makes you feel...?
Content
When you hear THUNDER, it makes you feel...?
Excited
When you hear the WIND HOWLING, it makes you feel...?
Lifted
Are you an OCEAN, MOUNTAIN, FOREST, or DESERT person?
All of them
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I loved fishing in a small pond in New Hampshire. I would fish for hours every day all summer long - catch and release.