MONTREAL - It's a long shot but more than 5,000 people with dreams of going into space have applied for the chance to become one of Canada's next two astronauts.
Ontario and Quebec lead the pack of stargazers who have filled in the preliminary application form, while there are three hopefuls from Nunavut and nine each from the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
The Canadian Space Agency launched its latest recruitment campaign in May and 5,352 candidates had registered online when the deadline closed last week.
The list will be whittled down to a final group of about 15 candidates next April.
The two astronauts who will eventually be picked in May 2009 will be trained to conduct experiments on the International Space Station.
Their basic training will begin at NASA in August 2009, to be followed by training for missions that will last up to six months.
Stephane Corbin, manager of the space agency's recruitment campaign, says the average age of the candidates is 32.
"But we had a few in their late 60s... maybe two or three who met the criteria," he told The Canadian Press, adding that there was no age limit.
Applicants had to have a bachelor's degree in science or engineering or a medical degree, as well as two years of experience in the field. There were also height and weight restrictions.
Forty per cent of the candidates are from Ontario, while 22 per cent come from Quebec.
The space agency also received 370 applications -- or seven per cent -- from people outside Canada.
Yukon Education Minister Patrick Rouble said he's not surprised people from his territory want in on the space action.
"I think that same spirit that brought adventurers up to the Klondike gold rush is alive and well," Rouble said in an interview.
Rouble says there's a strong sense of discovery and exploration in the Yukon.
"It isn't unusual to go on a canoe trip for a week where you might not see anyone else and in those situations you've got to be self-reliant and be prepared to look after yourself.
"It's the same characteristics that would lead one to become an astronaut."
The Yukon's candidates may be able to get some advice from Doug MacLean, who works in a Yukon government department.
He is the brother of astronaut Steve MacLean, who is Canada's chief astronaut and is leading the recruitment campaign.
One-fifth of applicants are women
Corbin said just more than 20 per cent of the astronaut candidates are women, while 15 per cent have been identified as being from visible-minority groups. Almost one per cent are aboriginals.
About 20 per cent of the candidates are francophones, while close to 80 per cent are anglophones.
Corbin said applicants did not have to be bilingual, but must be able to speak, read and write either of the two official languages.
An astronaut's salary starts at $83,300 and can go as high as $162,700.
The list of candidates will be reduced to 4,000 in early July, followed by "the big crunch" when the number of candidates will be drastically lowered.
A crucial step comes in mid-September when a trimmed-down list of 120 candidates will undergo detailed medical exams.
"We then expect to travel across Canada around the end of October and meet about 100 candidates face to face for a preliminary interview." Corbin said.
"We're going to end up with a pool of 15 to 16 individuals who will undergo the very final interviews."
Two individuals will then be chosen in May to get ready to begin training for a trip for the space station.
But Corbin also said the last pool of potential astronauts may still be considered for future space flights to the moon.
"It's possible that a Canadian could be on the moon, but it all depends on government policy," he said.
It's just the third time since the creation of the Canadian Astronaut Corps in 1983, that Canada has added new space explorers to an exclusive group of astronauts.
The last recruitment campaign was in 1992. For each of the two campaigns, there were more than 5,000 candidates.
