Carleton alumnus Andrew Rader, BEng/03, MASc/05, won the Discovery Channel’s television show Canada’s Greatest Know-It-All – and now, he’s hoping to conquer a new competition that would send him to space.

“I’ve always been told I’m a bit of a know-it-all, but that I’m pretty nice about it,” says Rader, who studied aerospace engineeringat Carleton. “And, my long-term goal is to become an astronaut.”

Rader is currently competing in the AXE Apollo Space Academy competition to try and further his dream of becoming an astronaut.

As part of the competition, the top two Canadians who receive the most votes will have a chance to fly 103km into space with space tourism company, SXC.

Rader, who has a PhD in microgravity research, also wants to get students involved if he wins the competition – by opening up a social media contest, and bringing the winning student’s science experiment into space.

“It could be related to water in space, or bubbles . . . it would have to be pretty small and portable,” Rader says.

While his primary goal is to win the competition, Rader hopes to promote science and space to inspire younger people.

His own inspiration comes from his late friend, Iain Beaudoin, who was his roommate in Stormont House and who got him interested in space.

“He talked about this stuff a lot, and it really rubbed off on me,” Rader recalls.

He adds that space exploration can make just about anything possible – including humans visiting Mars for the first time.

“Through the aerospace engineering program at Carleton and my best friend, I came to realize it is feasible,” he says.

Rader also has a video called Why Is Space Important? that users can find on YouTube.

Original story by Kristy Strauss appeared in Carleton Now, April 2013.

UPDATE: Peter Rakobowchuk, The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press| May 10, 2013

Andrew Rader has always wanted to be an astronaut and he’s ready to do anything to get into space — even spend the rest of his life on Mars.

The Ottawa native is one of at least 35 Canadians to apply for a mission to the Red Planet in 2023.

The Mars One project, the brainchild of Dutch entrepreneur Bas Landorp, plans to send a few willing pioneers on a one-way trip, with no chance of returning to Earth. The $6 billion project will use existing technology and be funded through sponsors and private investors.

Two weeks after the call for applicants went out, about 80,000 people from 120 countries have already responded in the hope of becoming one of the first four Martian settlers.

The Canadian applicants range in age from 18 to 47, with the majority of them in their 20s. While most are men, as of Thursday at least four Canadian women have applied.

Rader, 34, had already applied to become a member of the Canadian astronaut corps in 2009 but he wasn’t chosen.

“I’ve always wanted to work in space and to be an astronaut is really my ultimate goal,” he said.

Rader has discussed his far-out plan with his parents, and brother and sister, whom he said are supportive. Not everyone is thrilled with the idea, though. He said his aunt considers the idea a “suicide mission.”

“There are enormous risks. That being said, I think that the risks are worth taking. I mean, major leaps required major risks,” he said.

“Life is short, life is precious and that’s why you really should do major things that you believe in.”

Rader admitted that he views the project as a “very, very long shot.”

“The chances if it actually getting carried out as stated are extraordinarily slim,” he said. “(But) I think there is a very small chance that if all the dominoes fall in the right place, it could happen.”

The modules that would be used to create a habitat, with the help of robots, would be sent up first. Eventually, the first settlers would arrive following a seven-month trip.

On its website, the non-profit Mars One group says the first four settlers would be followed by more groups, every two years. At first, the home base would be limited to provisions, oxygen and water, but would expand to everything the settlers might need, including solar panels.

Mars One says primary funding will come from an as-yet-unspecified “global media event” that will feature the astronauts and their preparation. One organizer bristled at the comparison to reality TV, and said she preferred to call it an educational project.