Over Coffee® is on holiday hiatus. Please enjoy this reposting of one or our top episodes of 2024!

This post and podcast are for informational purposes only, and are not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional with any medical-related questions.

"The only thing better than going to space, is going to space with your friends," says neuroscientist Dr. Shawna Pandya.

In June, 2024, Dr. Pandya received word that she had been appointed by. Canada’s International Institute for Astronautical Sciences as one of three research astronauts, scheduled to fly aboard a first-of-its-kind suborbital mission.

The announcement added one more professional title to her resume: astronaut! (Dr. Pandya's current titles include Director of IIAS’ Space Medicine Group, Vice-President of Immersive Medicine at Luxsonic Technologies, Inc.; and IIAS’ Chief Instructor of Space Medicine and Extreme Environments.) She's also a pilot, aquanaut, educator, speaker...and we're probably missing at least one professional designation here!

And the friends with whom she will be going to space, are teammates Kelli Gerardi and Dr. Norah Patten. Kelli Girardi flew a highly successful inaugural research spaceflight, IIAS-01, in November 2023. Meanwhile, Dr. Norah Patten is an aeronautical engineer and STEM ambassador.

The goals of the IIAS-02 mission, on which the three-person crew is scheduled to fly in 2026, involve advancing human-tended microgravity research.

Dr. Pandya, a/k/a "Astronaut 002", talked about the upcoming IIAS-02 mission, shared some of the activities involved in team preparations and discussed leadership, discipline and creativity as they relate to her work in space science.