Chris Patterson – Engineering Project Manager

Credit: Canadian Space Agency (CSA)

• Name: Chris Patterson
• Job title: Engineering Project Manager
• Employer: CSA, Food Production Team, Lunar Exploration Program, Space Exploration Directorate
• Education: B.Eng. Bioresource Engineering (McGill University), M.Sc. Environmental Science (in progress) (University of Guelph, Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility)

What does your typical workday look like?
In the food production team, I am a technical expert on our early mission concepts for payloads designed to grow plants on the Moon. This usually takes the form of technical sessions with our team, where we come up with ideas and make decisions about hardware, operations, mission architecture: everything one needs to decide in order to send something to the Moon. Space is a very complicated subject, and this is why it takes big teams many years to build things; there's a lot to consider and we need to get it right!

How does what you do affect people's lives?
As we venture further out into the solar system, it's going to become much more difficult to provide astronauts with appropriate resources for their journey. If we want to live on the Moon, Mars and beyond, we need to learn to make our food on-site. That's why food production systems like the ones our team is working on are so critically important: we cannot keep exploring without them. The best part is that these systems could help produce high-quality, nutritious food almost anywhere, as much in space as here on Earth. It's really exciting and very moving to think of the impacts that these systems may one day have.

Which professional accomplishment are you the most proud of or something that you really like about your work?
It's such an incredible honour and privilege to be able to wake up every morning and work with the people of the CSA. The community here is so intelligent, humble and supportive that it's almost impossible to have a bad day at work. Working in the space program has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember, and even after almost two years of being at the CSA I can't quite believe that I get to work on something so fundamentally important. Space exploration is the expression of what I believe to be the answer to the fundamental question of what makes us human: we need to explore. I'm honoured that I get to be a small part of that.

How did you get to where you are today? Did you have to overcome any challenges?
Working in the space program is the only thing I've ever really wanted to do, but it certainly wasn't a simple process. More than all the studying, the absolute hardest part was believing I could actually achieve my goal. The space program is obviously a very daunting field to try and enter. Growing up I would see interviews with astronauts, scientists and engineers talking about their work, and each one of them seemed so incredible and unreachable in stature. I only really started to be successful when I accepted to simply try and trust that I could one day live up to the example of these amazing people. This was a turning point in my career, as it gave me the confidence I needed to continue pushing and eventually make it into the space program.

Who or what helped you the most throughout your career?
If there's one takeaway I've learned during my career path, it's that no one gets to where they are alone. I would not be where I am today or even the person I am without the unbelievable support and trust of my countless mentors and teachers. Their guidance and support helped me obtain the necessary skills to eventually achieve my dream of working in the space program; I would not have been able to do it myself.

The other thing that I found incredibly helpful was that I was and am very vocal about the fact that space is my passion. You'd be surprised how much openly expressing your enthusiasm helps in setting you apart from the crowd. If you have a passion and you're lucky enough to be able to pursue it, never be shy to express your love for it!

Think back to a teacher who had a positive impact on your life. What did she/he do to influence you?
I've had an entire village of people help get me to where I am, and I'm eternally grateful to every one of them. It's hard to pick just one, but I'll highlight the mentor I had when I was working with NASA. I was lucky enough as an undergraduate to be able to intern with a team at NASA run by a remarkable scientist. She taught me countless skills on writing, research, working on a multidisciplinary team, and expressed a deep interest in fostering these skills to make me the best I could be. The biggest gift she gave me was confidence to pursue my dream and the real-world experience of working in the space program; I will always be grateful to her.

What advice would you give young people interested in going into space science?
If there's one thing I could impart upon young people who also want to work in this field, it's to trust yourself and know that it's more than possible to get here. I remember being intimidated watching people who worked in the space program and thinking I could never be like them. Now that I'm here, I see that the people who work in the space program are indeed incredible, but are also very human. I've struggled with grades, failed classes, been denied entry to programs and of course doubted myself at many points. What's important is to remain tenacious and remember that what you are working towards is important, and serves something big and beautiful. Your biggest strength will always be your passion. Never be afraid to show that to people!