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Souvenirs

When the Space Shuttle Discovery blasted off in early 1992 for the first International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-1) mission among the things on board was a package of Canadian maple seeds. These were planted as part of the National Space Exhibit at the Museum of Science and Technology, upon the shuttle's return.

Canada has been allotted room on the shuttle to take official memorabilia into space during the mission. The seeds were part of the Canadian government's official "flight kit" which accompanied Dr. Roberta Bondar, Canada s second astronaut in space, during her mission (STS-42) on board the Space Shuttle Discovery. The "flight kit" also included: Canadian Space Agency coats-of-arms: Canadian Astronaut Program patches: Roberta Bondar official flight patches: plus Canadian and American flags. These items were used to create official montages for presentation during post-flight visits to the universities and organizations involved with the mission.

Other memorabilia included: Provincial and Territorial flags; lapel pins; and flags from Canadian cities associated with the STS-42 mission.

Flags, stickers or patches from the research institutions of the Canadian principal investigators (scientists), and from other academic, research, professional and support institutions which contributed to the mission were also on board for official presentations after the flight.

The presentations were made to each of the contributors by Dr. Bondar and her back up. Dr. Ken Money, during their post-flight visits of selected Canadian cities and organizations.