Olathe Clark
MDRS Spaceward Bound Crew 52

 

I was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, but grew up outside of Lake St. Peter, Ontario.  At the age of 19, I moved to Nova Scotia and did a B.Sc. in Biology with honours at Dalhousie University.  After graduating, I worked in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska for two years as an onboard marine biologist.  While in Alaska I met my fiancé, a fellow biologist.  We moved to France in 2004, where I did a M.Sc. in Space Science at the International Space University in Strasbourg. 

Currently, we are M.Sc. in Environmental Biology candidates at the University of Guelph in Ontario.  I am in the Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility (CESRF), looking at plant microbe interactions under altered atmospheric conditions that could be used for bioregenerative life support systems. 

My dream is to become an astronaut, or at least to have opportunities to pretend I am one in analogue environments, while helping to prepare future generations for the challenges of space exploration and habitation.