Undergraduate helped astronaut stay sharp in space
[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/liladanis.jpg” caption=”Lila Danis is returning to campus this week after spending 16 months with the Canadian Space Agency. She is pictured here with Colonel Chris Hadfield, who will soon become the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station.”]
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It was purely by chance that Lila Danis applied for the internship that would change her
life.
She was in the Faculty of Social Sciences' Experiential Education office when she heard
about the opportunity to work for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The organization was
seeking a student to help with psychological support planning on a four-month contract,
and Danis, a psychology, neuroscience & behaviour student, wanted to make sure she had
something lined up in case other plans fell through. So she applied.
Sixteen months later, Danis has returned home having played an important role in Canada's
first long-duration space mission.
"I didn't know much about space before I left for the job," she said. "I had seen a few
minutes of [the movies] Apollo 13 and Armageddon, but that's about it."
What Danis didn't know about space, however, she more than made up for with her can-do
attitude and hardworking nature.
Working in the human behaviour and performance area of the CSA's Canadian Astronaut
Office, Danis was responsible for assisting in psychological support for Robert Thirsk
during his six-month stay aboard the International Space Station. Her duties included
everything from ensuring Thirsk was able to stay in touch with Earth via email to lining up
videoconferences with people Thirsk looks up to in order to boost his morale.
"I never knew what was going to happen or what I'd be doing on any given day," said Danis.
"Sometimes it didn't feel real."
Danis also assisted in delivering broadcasts of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs to the
International Space Station for Thirsk, a known hockey fan, as well as news programs and
television shows for entertainment when he had down-time. All of this was in an effort to
ensure the psychological health of the astronaut as he lived and worked in space for 188
days.
"It's incredibly important for the well-being of the astronauts," said Danis. "But the
psychological assistance we provided has wide-ranging applications on Earth: any
extreme, high-pressure situation where there is a great deal of social stress, such as
during times of war or accidents such as the recent Chilean mine collapse."
Danis spent her final two terms with the CSA working on post-flight wrap-up and
debriefing, writing a comprehensive resource manual for Canadian long-duration
psychological support measures along the way. She is the only Canadian student to have
performed such mission-related activities. She also had the opportunity to watch a shuttle
launch in Florida and tour NASA's Johnson Space Centre facility.
"I was lucky enough to experience a number of once-in-a-lifetime things," said Danis,
who wants to pursue work in the field of space psychology after university. "I'm really
thankful to the Experiential Education office for the opportunity to work in such an exciting
area."
Now back in the (relative to the CSA) stress-free confines of McMaster's campus, Danis
says that she's eager to see how she's changed as a person - and to take advantage of days
that allow her to "sleep in" until 8:30 a.m.
"I got to work with the best of the best at the CSA," she said. "I'm interested to see what
lessons I've learned and what I can apply to my studies now that I'm back."
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