A movement to make space
belong to everyone

We Are All Stardust

Jason Michaud was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario — the same city as Roberta Bondar, Canada's first woman in space — and raised in Dubreuilville, a lumberjack village of 900 in the northern bush, under skies so dark the stars were constant. Nobody expected much of him there. His family went bankrupt twice before he was grown. Born with cleidocranial dysplasia and living with ADHD, he spent years hiding the parts of himself that were different, because when he showed them, they were used against him. People told him his whole life that space wasn't for him.

But at twelve, he told his grandmother he would fly to the stars and walk in Antarctica in a space suit someday. She didn't laugh. She told him he'd have so many adventures — and gave him a rule he still carries: never sink to the level of those who hurt you.

Stardust was born in 2019, out of the wreckage of everything he'd built and lost — because what's left after an asteroid hits is stardust. The storms kept coming: he lost his grandmother in 2020, and two years later the step-father who adopted him as his own and brought him into Anishinaabe culture and family. He kept the name, because it had become a truth he was living.

Since then, Jason has represented Canada at World Expo in Dubai and Japan, addressed the United Nations alongside the King of Eswatini, engaged with the White House National Space Council, and flown 80+ parabolas of microgravity, lunar, and Martian gravity on his path to becoming a private astronaut — collaborating with NASA, Lockheed Martin, Blue Origin, MDA, ispace, the Canadian Space Agency, MBRSC, and Altec. Through Stardust, with offices in Canada, the United States, and Dubai, he has reached hundreds of thousands of students who, like him, were told the stars weren't for them.

Stardust is about the human side of space: bringing authenticity, healing, and hope with us as a species, so we thrive out there instead of carrying all our hurt along. Après la tempête revient toujours le beau temps — after the storm, the good weather always returns.

"I spent too much of my life silenced and hiding who I am. I'm not silent anymore, and I'm done hiding. My dream is a generation who get to be their true, authentic selves — the Stardust Generation. And I carry a promise still: that one day, I'll take my grandmother with me to the stars."

Pioneering Regenerative Medicine and Space Biotech

Dr. Joshua Chou is a scientist, innovator, and global thought leader at the intersection of space and human health. With a PhD in tissue engineering, he has dedicated his career to unlocking the therapeutic potential of stem cells and advancing regenerative medicine — from the labs of Harvard to experiments in microgravity.

As a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellow at the University of Tokyo, Joshua spent three years investigating stem cells' therapeutic potential. His research at Harvard, published in Cell, one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals, identified the hormone responsible for maintaining health through exercise. During that time, he initiated groundbreaking studies into the effects of microgravity on cellular behavior — pioneering work that has since evolved into biomanufacturing technologies for stem cell and exosome production in space.

Today, as Chief Science Officer of Stardust Inc., Joshua leads efforts to merge biomedical innovation with space research, exploring how microgravity and advanced space technologies can revolutionize medicine, sustainability, and human resilience for life beyond Earth.

His laboratory built Australia's first microgravity device, a container the size of a tissue box that spins on an axis, and used it to test four of the most aggressive cancers: ovarian, breast, nose and lung. Between eighty and ninety per cent of the cells were disabled. Deprived of gravity, the cancer cells could no longer sense one another, and could not come together.

He then took the question to orbit. Joshua has flown a payload to the International Space Station and run the experiment from the ground through live-cell imaging, freezing the samples for their return to Earth. A senior lecturer in biomedical engineering at the University of Technology Sydney, he began this line of work after a conversation with Stephen Hawking, who remarked that nothing in the universe defies gravity.

For Joshua, space is not only about exploration — it’s a frontier for healing, survival, and reimagining what it means to be human.

"Building on this foundation, Joshua has led research into neurodegenerative diseases and brain cancer, developing innovative stem cell and exosome therapies. In 2019, he was awarded funding from Australia’s Charlie Teo Foundation to develop the world’s most advanced brain cancer-on-a-chip model, accelerating discovery for new treatments."

Crafting Stories at the Intersection of Art, Technology, and Human Experience

Master storyteller, art director, experience designer, and artist shaped by global agency collaborations and major brand campaigns across every media platform.

At the forefront of innovation, with achievements such as unveiling the first robotic dog model at Dubai Fashion Week. Deeply curious and inspired by a wide range of interests, from film and photography to motorsport, artificial intelligence, and space exploration.

"Driven by a passion for blending art, design, and technology to craft narratives that resonate and leave lasting impressions."

From Simulators to the Stars: A Visionary Journey in Aerospace Innovation

Steve Smith is a visionary engineering executive with over 25 years of experience leading breakthrough innovations in aerospace and simulation. As Director of Flight Systems at Blue Origin, he leads a high-performance team advancing the state-of-the-art in autonomous spaceflight and exploration.

Previously, as Director of Innovation and Product Development at FlightSafety International, he drove the development of next-generation flight simulation technologies, transforming pilot training worldwide.

He holds an MBA from MIT and both a masters and bachelors degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Kansas.

"A proven leader in technical strategy and product innovation, Steve has scaled engineering organizations, pioneered new technologies, and shaped industry standards."

Leading the Space and AI Economy with a Human-Centered Vision for the Future

I am a Human-Centered AI & Longevity Wizard—a TEDx speaker, investor, advisory board member, upcoming author, and the Founder, Human CEO & Chief AI Officer of BrainGym and Zufa.Ai. My mission is to future-proof individuals and businesses through AI upskilling, the New Space Economy, and Web3, with Longevity as a core pillar of my philosophy.

With 32 years of experience in innovation, banking, technology, and ESG across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, I now specialize in AI strategy, human longevity, and the intersection of technology and well-being.

"As a relentless practitioner of longevity science, I integrate biohacking, AI-driven health optimization, metabolic conditioning, and cognitive enhancement into my daily routine."

From Zero Gravity to Zero Limits: Championing STEM Access for Future Explorers

Dianea Phillips is a lifelong educator and advocate for STEM access whose journey from the classroom to a zero-gravity flight embodies her belief that science belongs to everyone. A Certified Aerospace Educator and recipient of the prestigious Cherri Brinley Outstanding Educator Award at Space Center Houston, Dianea has dedicated her career to breaking down barriers andiring the next generation of explorers.

Her passion for aerospace was ignited during her first zero-gravity flight, a defining moment that reinforced her mission to create opportunities for students who, like her, were once told that science and space were "not for them." After earning her degree at McGill University, Dianea began her career teaching in northern Quebec before serving for 25 years with the Lester B. Pearson School Board, where she led the Centre for Educational Excellence, training teachers and delivering transformative STEM education to students.

As an entrepreneur and youth life coach, Dianea continues to innovate through programs like Science Yourself!, No G's About It!, and her informal Space School in Montreal, featuring initiatives such as NASA’s Next-Gen STEM pilot program, SPARX. Through creative approaches that blend storytelling, coaching, and hands-on science, she empowers young people to discover resilience, creativity, and confidence through STEM.

At Stardust, Dianea serves as Education Coordinator, where she channels her passion and expertise into developing inclusive, inspiring programs that open doors for students worldwide. A mentor in the McGill Black Mentorship Program, she is committed to ensuring that all youth — especially those from underrepresented communities — see themselves reflected in leadership, science, and space.

"Our youth need us," says Dianea. "They need our wisdom, our stories, our ears — and they need to know we are willing to show up for them."

From Molecular Life to Life Beyond Earth

Shifa Zahra is a biotechnologist working at the frontier of Space Biology and Astrobiology, driven by one central question: how does life originate, adapt, and survive beyond Earth?

Her research focuses on developing non-Earth-centered life-detection strategies by integrating molecular biology, extremophile systems, and stress-adaptation mechanisms relevant to Mars and lunar exploration. By studying biological resilience under extreme conditions, Shifa aims to redefine how we search for life and how we sustain it beyond our planet.

Her upcoming work simulates extraterrestrial environments to investigate molecular stability, adaptive pathways, and biological survival strategies in high-radiation, low-pressure, and resource-limited conditions. Through this research, she contributes to sustainable human exploration and next-generation life-detection missions.

At Stardust, Shifa serves as Director of Space Biology & Strategic Partnerships, where she leads international scientific collaborations and educational outreach initiatives across universities and research institutions. She builds global academic partnerships, supports interdisciplinary research pipelines, and creates meaningful entry points for students, particularly young women, to participate in space science and satellite missions.

Her work strengthens Stardust's scientific ecosystem by connecting researchers, institutions, and emerging talent into a globally integrated network of space biology innovation.

Shifa envisions a future where astrobiology, biotechnology, and human exploration advance together, not only to understand life beyond Earth, but to ensure humanity thrives responsibly as it expands into the solar system.

For Shifa, space is not only a destination, it is a laboratory for understanding life itself.

"Biotechnology is not just a laboratory discipline, it is the bridge between Earth and the cosmos."

Reading the Brain Where the Laboratory Cannot Go

Dr. Olav Krigolson is a professor at the University of Victoria and director of its Theoretical and Applied Neuroscience Laboratory, where his research spans mobile neuroimaging, human performance and the neuroscience of decision making.

His laboratory took electroencephalography out of the clinic and into the world. Krigolson and his colleagues validated low-cost mobile EEG against research-grade systems, then proved it at scale, recording brain activity from a thousand participants in sessions lasting minutes rather than hours, and measuring perception, attention, memory, learning and decision making in each one.

That work has produced more than one hundred and ten peer-reviewed publications, two hundred and fifty conference presentations, and over twenty-seven million dollars in research funding. He has also given two TEDx talks and hosts That Neuroscience Guy, a podcast with more than a million downloads. And it has taken him somewhere few neuroscientists go: inside a Mars analogue habitat, running a simulated mission to test whether a crew's brain activity can reveal fatigue and strain before their performance does.

At Stardust he joins the Advisory Board and anchors the research backbone beneath everything our crews will fly. He leads the ethics architecture hosted at the University of Victoria, spanning spaceflight research, habitat and analogue missions, and interviews with astronauts and their families, so that no research touches a participant before approval is in place and every member keeps ownership of their own data.

For the Stardust Generation, his presence means something simple: the human side of space will be measured properly, by someone who has spent a career making that measurement honest.