Chatham-native Erik Kroeker is excited about the possibility of flying to the moon and back.
But a trip to Mars isn't out of the question, either.
The University of Illinois lecturer and staff scientist is in Toronto this week, going through a series of medical tests after being named to the shortlist of 17 candidates who are competing for two spots as Canada's next astronauts.
"I've got a lot of what it takes to be an astronaut, but I don't think I could say that I'm better than these other individuals," says Kroeker. "At this point, if you picked any of these two candidates I would tell you that's the right choice... every single one of these candidates would be an absolutely amazing astronaut."
It's not clear yet exactly when the successful candidates will be selected, but the choices are expected to be made sometime this summer because basic training with NASA is scheduled to take place in August 2017.
Until then, Kroeker and the 16 other candidates who are still in the running will be subjected to numerous tests and physical examinations.
"Right now, we're going through a whole battery of medical testing all week long," says Kroeker. "If there's anything that will ever be wrong with us medically, they should be able to find it out this week."
After the physical examinations wrap up, there will be even more tests as the group is whittled down to the final two.
Kroeker has already made the cut multiple times -- first he joined a group of 72 successful candidates, then he was named to the top 32, before officially joining the elite group of the final 17.
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW:
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Throughout the selection process, candidates have been tested both physically and mentally, including several simulations that are designed to measure how the candidates respond to potentially catastrophic situations.
"We were dropped, crashed, drowned, burned, gassed, and crushed," says Kroeker, summing up his experience during the second round of assessments. "There were a lot of scenarios in the water, some firefighting, repairing a sinking ship, and a lot of drops simulating capsule crashes."
But in the end, it's all worth it for Kroeker, who is eagerly looking forward to the prospect of not only having a chance to explore outer space, but to share that experience -- and his passion for science and exploration -- with others.
"For me, the best part of the job isn't necessarily going up in space -- don't get me wrong, I'm excited about doing that -- but that just becomes another experience to share," says Kroeker. "What I really love is the idea of going around Canada and representing all of the amazing science that we do and at the same time taking all of the amazing science that we are doing here in Canada and presenting that to the rest of the world."
