Vaudreuil girl, 8, ready to be Canada's next astronaut

The Canadian Space Agency is looking for two new people to become the country's next astronauts.

So far, the agency has received thousands of applications from all over the country. But one in particular from Quebec caught the eye of MP Peter Schiefke of Vaudreuil-Soulanges. It's from an eight-year-old constituent named Sahana Khatri.

It has been her dream to become an astronaut since the age of six, when she went on a camping trip.

"And then I saw stars, and then I asked my mom, 'Why are some stars making some shapes?', and my mom told me about constellations and I started being inspired by space," she said from her home in Vaudreuil-Dorion.

• Want to be a Canadian astronaut? Apply now
• New generation of space rovers unveiled

Her passion is on display all over her bedroom, where a telescope and glow-in-the-dark stickers of planets are part of the decor.

A personal response

Her mother got in touch with Schiefke about her daughter's desire to enter the astronaut contest, and he made a proposition: if Sahana writes a letter, he'll deliver it to Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains. So she did, and Schiefke delivered.

Sahana is probably too young to make the cut. Candidates must have a bachelor's degree in science or engineering, or a doctorate in medicine or dentistry. She still has a few years left before she graduates from elementary school.

But that didn't stop Bains from sending her a personal message of encouragement on Friday.

Schiefke also doesn't want her age to dampen her ambitions.

"You know, it's not every day that an eight-year-old writes a letter saying 'I want to become Canada's next astronaut,'" he said.

"It's something you want to foster. You don't want to lose that enthusiasm."