It is a new week at NASA鈥檚 Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and Jenni Sidey-Gibbons (BEng鈥�11) is ready for anything. As an Astronaut Candidate, she has to be.
On any given day, Sidey-Gibbons could find herself wrangling a heavy spacesuit in the deep water of NASA鈥檚 specialized Neutral Buoyancy Lab as she perfects her spacewalking technique, or making split-second decisions piloting a supersonic jet through the clouds. She could be in the classroom learning about lunar geology in the morning and, later that day, be brushing up on every system that keeps the International Space Station operational, from water recycling to radiation protection.
鈥淥ne of the biggest challenges is the change of pace,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he gear shifting can be pretty daunting. Luckily, we have great teachers.鈥�
Feet firmly on the ground
When you talk to Sidey-Gibbons about her accomplishments 鈥� from being a top-level rugby player, a standout Engineering student at 平特五不中, a faculty member at the University Cambridge and only the third female candidate ever to be named to the Canadian Space Agency鈥檚 astronaut program 鈥� she doesn鈥檛 wax poetic. At all.
Speaking via telephone, her conversation is peppered with words like 鈥済rit,鈥� 鈥渞esolve鈥� and 鈥減reparation.鈥�
She is, above all, an engineer who 鈥渓ikes to use science to solve problems.鈥�
Perhaps this determination and pragmatism comes from being a woman who excels in the male-dominated fields of engineering and space exploration, fields in which obstacles are many and resolutions are often found after numerous failed trials.
When asked what advice she would give to others who also face challenges, Sidey-Gibbons is matter-of-fact. 鈥淎ctively seek out mentors, and keep trying,鈥� she says. 鈥淎lways keep trying.鈥�
It is a formula that has served her well.
Sidey-Gibbons鈥� first mentor was her mother, a woman with an arts background who recognized that her daughter was wired differently. 鈥淚鈥檝e always had an explorer spirit. My mom encouraged me in a lot of different ways,鈥� including keeping a scrapbook of news clippings about Roberta Bondar, Canada鈥檚 first woman in space. 鈥淸Bondar鈥檚 mission] was in 1992, and I wasn鈥檛 old enough to realize the impact of that moment but my mom emphasized how important it was.鈥�
Boundlessly curious, Sidey-Gibbons was a child geologist who collected rocks and always carried vinegar to test for limestone. Eventually, she gravitated toward engineering, drawn to the 鈥渕arriage of science and creativity.鈥�
Impactful undergraduate experience
Sidey-Gibbons came to 平特五不中 at the recommendation of a researcher with whom she did lab work on hypoxia and hypocapnia 鈥� while still in Grade 11. 鈥淪he told me 平特五不中鈥檚 engineering program was exceptional,鈥� says Sidey-Gibbons. 鈥淪he said it was the kind of place that would set you on the right track for whatever career you wanted to pursue. I was sold.鈥�
平特五不中 didn鈥檛 disappoint.
鈥淚 came to 平特五不中 knowing that I liked science, but I didn鈥檛 have a mature concept of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life,鈥� says Sidey-Gibbons. 鈥淚 had some pretty influential professors who were welcoming to undergraduates who wanted to participate in research 鈥� which was incredibly helpful for my career.鈥�
Sidey-Gibbons praises Jeff Bergthorson, a professor in the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, and a researcher specializing in combustion and energy systems.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking at the physics of flames and how this thing, combustion, has a process that鈥檚 been central to our existence forever, and yet we still have things to learn,鈥� she says. 鈥淛eff really set me on the track to studying combustion.鈥�
For his part, Bergthorson was equally impressed with Sidey-Gibbons.
鈥淛enni was an outstanding student,鈥� says Bergthorson. 鈥淭his was a course about thermodynamics and energy and she wanted to understand it 鈥� not just to do well on tests, but to really absorb the material鈥� I was always impressed by her thoughtful questions and how she tried to dig deep.鈥�
While she was doing her undergraduate honors thesis at 平特五不中, Sidey-Gibbons got the chance to do some microgravity flights at the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, her first experience with weightlessness. 鈥�平特五不中 was an incredibly encouraging place in many ways,鈥� she says.
鈥淯nmissable opportunity鈥�
After completing her PhD at Cambridge, Sidey-Gibbons was hired on there as a faculty member in the Department of Engineering.
While at Cambridge she co-founded the university鈥檚 chapter of Robogals, an organization that aims to inspire and empower young women to study STEM. In 2016, she was named the Institution of Engineering and Technology's Young Woman Engineer of the Year.
鈥淎t that point I thought 鈥淢an, I鈥檓 in my forever job. Being an academic, teaching, learning, doing outreach. But then鈥︹��
Then came the Canadian Space Agency鈥檚 astronaut recruitment drive in 2016.
鈥淭his was just one of those unmissable opportunities,鈥� she says with a laugh.
Sidey-Gibbons applied along with some 3,700 other candidates. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I was particularly confident that I would go all the way but I really wanted to experience the recruitment process,鈥� she says.
Not only did Sidey-Gibbons experience the arduous, year-long recruitment process 鈥� in which recruits were subjected to a series of exhausting tests designed to push them to their physical and mental limits 鈥� she thrived.
On Canada Day 2017, Sidey-Gibbons and Joshua Kutryk were named the country鈥檚 newest astronauts.
鈥淭here were moments when I was very intimidated,鈥� she says, looking back at the selection process. 鈥淚t鈥檚 natural to see something that you鈥檝e never done before 鈥� like an underwater helicopter escape 鈥� and think 鈥極ooof, how am I going to do that?鈥� Often, I didn鈥檛 get the result I wanted. It鈥檚 all about persevering and being resilient.鈥�
Lessons learned, lessons still to come
Bergthorson, for one, isn鈥檛 surprised Sidey-Gibbons rose to the occasion.
鈥淪uccess in research is so much about resiliency. You have this idea in your head, you build it and it doesn鈥檛 work like you expected it to. You get frustrated, you struggle,鈥� he says.
鈥淭he work she did on aluminum-water reactions for her undergraduate honors thesis isn鈥檛 very important to her career as an astronaut, but going into the lab and facing frustrations, difficulties and struggles is what the research experience is all about. It tests a student鈥檚 resolve 鈥� and Jenni definitely came out as being one of the strongest.鈥�
And so, two years after being selected, Sidey-Gibbons continues to study Russian and orbital mechanics and streak across the sky in supersonic jets, preparing for a space mission that, by her own admission is, at best, 鈥測ears away.鈥�
鈥淪paceflight is the pinnacle of an astronaut鈥檚 career. The capstone,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of training for a very small amount of time in space. One day I hope to get there, but for the time being, I have so much left to learn.鈥�