It’s a long, long way to the stars but Nathalie Sleno is one step closer. The St. Albert native is one of 72 Canadians in the running to be one of the country’s two next astronauts.
Looking over her qualifications and interests, it’s obvious that she has the right stuff to go up into space. She certainly has the proper attitude.
“I had my sights set on flying from the time I was young. I would find myself looking up at the sky… always. My father was a pilot. That was my lifelong dream was to get up above everything.”
The alumna of the 533 St. Albert Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron has been in the running since applications were accepted last summer. Ever since she graduated from St. Albert Catholic High School in 1994, her career path has had the right trajectory to take her to the Canadian Space Agency.
She immediately joined the military and joined the Namao Flying Club to get her pilot’s license. At the same time that she was doing basic military training and primary flying training, she was enrolled at the University of Alberta in the science program.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science with distinction, specializing in physical geography, later becoming a bioscience officer in human factors and ergonomics, and later aerospace physiology working to prevent and eliminate health threats to the Canadian Armed Forces. She got her medical degree from the University of Manitoba and has been a physician for the last few years, serving military personnel in Yellowknife.
News of her successful progression through the several stages of the application process has brought a bit of buzz to that northern capital.
“People know. We’re a small town so it’s all word of mouth. Everybody is aware of it but you carry on with your day,” she continued.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m a celebrity up here but it’s brought space up into the forefront. Those that weren’t even aware that they were looking for a new astronaut are now aware. Those that weren’t really even aware of space exploration are now taking an interest. Wherever I’m at with a group of people, the conversation starts to move towards space again, which is really exciting for me.”
The concept of becoming an astronaut wasn’t something that she fully had on her radar throughout her life. It was a friend of her husband’s who initially mentioned it to her and that’s when the ball first started to roll.
“Part of me was initially super excited about the possibility and then a realizing of how difficult the process was going to be and was it really going to happen. It just felt like this was everything that I’d been moving towards. It was the next greatest challenge, the next greatest opportunity. When I heard about it, I could not not apply.”
She wasn’t able to offer many details about the continuing process and the various phases of the application that she still needs to pass through.
The concept that she might be in space someday might be a bit distracting to most. Sleno remains focused. She’s on this planet to do a job and serve her country as best as she can. Maybe a time will come when she isn’t on this planet, but that hasn’t lost her any sleep though.
“It’s one step at a time. I carry on with my life. It’s never not in my mind. I don’t find it tough but my mind is definitely always on the possibility of what this is going to be like if it works out. It excites my whole being. I sleep well though,” she laughed.
