OTTAWA, ON, February 7, 2019—The Canada Aviation and Space Museum, one of three museums under Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation, is thrilled to announce the launch of Health in Space: Daring to Explore, a permanent exhibition created in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency.
Health in Space demystifies the health challenges — such as variable gravity, radiation, and isolation — that astronauts face while living and working in space. Through captivating artifacts and interactive activities, this exhibition will engage visitors to better understand Canada’s role in advancing health research. Discoveries in this field will be essential for the success of future deep-space expeditions, and may also help solve medical challenges on Earth.
Artifact highlights include the physiology experiment sled that Roberta Bondar used to study the effects of disorientation in space, dosimeters used for measuring radiation exposure in space, and a bio-monitoring shirt identical to the one that David Saint-Jacques is wearing for health research aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Health in Space also includes videos where astronauts David Saint-Jacques, Robert Thirsk, and Dave Williams, along with medical doctor and flight surgeon Raffi Kuyumjian, share their thoughts and first-hand experiences related to health challenges in space. A special section within the exhibition highlights David Saint-Jacques’ current mission, from his selection and training to the experiments he will conduct while he’s aboard the ISS.
More information on this exhibition can be found here.
Quotes
“Ingenium is proud to partner with the Canadian Space Agency to bring Health in Space to visitors. This exhibition helps to demystify a very complex aspect of space exploration, celebrate the important contributions Canadians have made in this field, and better understand the unique medical challenges astronauts face.”
- Christina Tessier, President and CEO of Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation
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Contact
Christine Clouthier
Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation
cclouthier@IngeniumCanada.org
613-410-5943
About the Canada Aviation and Space Museum
One of three museums under Ingenium – Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum is aptly located at Ottawa’s historic Rockcliffe Airport, which previously functioned as a former military air base. The museum takes visitors on a journey through Canada’s aviation and space history — from the early days of flight to the future of space exploration. Spanning 1909 to the present day, the museum focuses on aviation in Canada within an international context. As Canada’s contribution to aviation expanded to include aerospace technology, the museum’s collection and mandate grew to include space flight. The collection itself consists of more than 130 aircraft and artifacts (propellers, engines) from both civil and military service. The most extensive aviation collection in Canada, it is also considered one of the finest aviation museums in the world.