Lunch with Julie Payette

Thanks to the Science at Massey program, I had lunch with Canadian two-time Space Shuttle astronaut Julie Payette.

As a group, we talked about her International Space Station construction missions STS-96 and STS-127; new technologies for crewed space missions, planetary exploration, and habitation elsewhere in the solar system; extremophiles and the search for life beyond Earth in the solar system; and the many experiences of launch, microgravity, and living and working in space.

Payette was very accessible, humble, and kind — and clearly seemed happy to hang around with a bunch of nerds to talk about science and look at photos from her missions.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. Between 2005 and 2007 I completed an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. I worked for five years for the Canadian federal government, including completing the Accelerated Economist Training Program, and then completed a PhD in Political Science at the University of Toronto in 2023. View all posts by Milan