A to Z Challenge: A is for Astronaut

Today is one of the best days of the year! Not only is is Easter Sunday (Hoppy Easter!) AND April Fool's Day (I'm gearing up to play a few pranks on my family), but April 1 also kicks off the 2018 Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

If you've forgotten my theme, check out Friday's post here. And remember, read each post to see how you can WIN a FULL set of the Superman Duffy graphic novels—16 books, plus 7 in French, if you want. Signed by the author! 

A if for Astronaut

I'm not an astronaut—but the comic book "me" in the Superman Duffy graphic novels went to space in It's a Blast! and taught farmers on three different planets how to grow canola.

Of course, growing crops in outer space isn't a reality right now, but the book was inspired by a real life astronaut who took canola seeds into space many years ago.

That astronaut is the great Canadian Robert Thirsk—and I got to meet him!

On one of his famous space flights, Mr. Thirsk took 200,000 canola seeds into space. He wanted to see if the seeds would be affected by anti-gravity—would they grow into plants faster or slower when they came back to Earth?

The project became known as CanoLab, and all across the country, schools received a package of "space seeds" to grow in the classroom. When compared to the regular seeds, there was only a marginal difference in growth speed (the seeds that had been in space grew a tiny bit faster.)

Mr. Thirsk is a retired astronaut now, but the project is still going—now known as TomatoSphere.

To read more about the project, or to see how the author of the Superman Duffy books turned Mr. Thirsk's adventure into a story of adventure for ME (er, well, cartoon character me) check out It's a Blast! You can order your copy here.

Gotta jet! Have a great Easter Sunday, and I'll see you tomorrow with the letter "B"—it's a fun one.

~ Chase Superman Duffy

P.S. - A is also for AMELIA, my sister, and the name of one of the Superman Duffy books—but you'll learn more about that one tomorrow!