This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe sits down with Dr. Shawna Pandya, the first named female commercial Canadian astronaut — and one of the most fascinating humans you’ll ever hear from.

She’s an emergency and aeromedical transport physician, an aquanaut, a blackbelt, and the Director of the IIAS Space Medicine Group, where she leads research into how humans adapt to the most extreme environments imaginable — underwater, in microgravity, and someday, on Mars. She’s preparing to fly to space aboard Virgin Galactic’s Delta class spacecraft as early as 2026, and her work is permanently exhibited at the Ontario Science Centre beside Dr. Roberta Bondar.

Joe and Dr. Pandya dive into what it means to push human boundaries, the delicate balancing act of avoiding burnout, and how curiosity, compassion, and courage continue to guide her every step — or giant leap.

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A huge thank you to Dr. Shawna Pandya for joining me today and sharing her inspiring perspective, to Nick Thorburn for our stellar theme music, to Ceci Giglio for the beautiful graphics, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the FB group, and to my family for always supporting this mission — even when I start researching real estate on uninhabited Arctic islands.