Two days from now David Saint-Jacques will return to Earth after more than six months in space and setting a Canadian record for the longest duration mission. On June 19 he participated in his last on-orbit media event.
The event at Canadian Space Agency (CSA) headquarters had more than one theme though. On hand were the winners of the CSA Creative Writers contest along with Michael Groves of the Royal Canadian Mint who provided the first glimpse of an Apollo 11 50th anniversary commemorative $25 fine silver coin. The coin was handed out to each of the writing contest winners though if you want to buy one you’ll have to wait a while longer as it’s not for sale yet.
The Creative Writers contest was looking for “an out-of-this-world space-themed children’s story” according to the CSA. Six winners were selected from three age groups. The contest winners were;
9-12 age category
- Green and Red by Chloé Jones, Victoria, British Columbia
- Pluto the Dwarf Planet by Sarah Al Fahed, Kitchener, Ontario
13-15 age category
- King of the Sky by Ariane Laroche, Sherbrooke, Quebec
- Space Day! by Fumairia Laureijs, Amherst, Nova Scotia
16+ age category
- When you’ve got to go… by Guillaume Labbé, Gatineau, Quebec
- The Lion Heart by Laura Clow, Ottawa, Ontario
Watch the event as the Creative Writers contest winners are presented and David Saint-Jacques answers media questions.
https://youtu.be/HSzXSwrpHgc?t=328