McGill-trained MD, experiment give June 20 shuttle flight strong Canadian flavour.

Family physician Robert Thirsk, an original member of the Canadian Space Agency's astronaut program, will be part of the seven-member crew when the space shuttle Columbia lifts off from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre June 20. In this special report, the 1982 McGill graduate outlines some of the physiologic and materials-science experiments the crew will conduct. Thirsk, a payload specialist and crew medical officer, thinks the findings could have a significant impact on future space missions, medicine and the biotechnology industry.