Nevin Hotson is this year's Habitat Commander. A veteran of the two previous missions, Titan 2006 and Borrelly 2007, Nevin has been an astronaut in each of his three years at Sim. He is also de facto webmaster. His extracurricular time is split between Sim, captaining Lisgar's unfairly successful Reach team, playing his clarinet in the Wind Ensemble, translating the Aeneid for AP Latin, patrolling Wikipedia for vandalism, distance running, and a host of other activities. His academic interests tend to be somewhat divergent, split as they are between Mathematics and the hard Sciences on the one hand, and European History and Latin on the other. He is currently aspiring toward an engineering career in the aerospace sector, possibly with the Canadian Forces.

Anthony Xing is the Pilot this year. A long time Spacesim member, he has participated in three previous missions, two as GUIDO in Mission Control (for Mars 2005 and Titan 2006) and one as the Co-pilot for Borrelly 2007. Over the years, the OCESS has seen his transformation from a nothing-doer to one of the most involved members. Aside from various tasks integral to Spacesim, he is participating in two Space Design Challenges this year. At the same time, Anthony is heavily involved with the Lisgar Society of Debating as well as Student for Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) Canada. His interests includes space exploration, theoretical physics, calculus, history, and military strategy, among others. Currently, he aspires to be part of the design team that will put (wo)men on Mars in real life.

Maclean Rouble was born in Toronto in 1992 and moved to Ottawa in 2001. She spends most of her time writing, drawing, and poking about the realms of physics and chemistry. Inside Spacesim, she is the unofficial flight and engineering instructor and helps out with the construction of the Engine Closet. This is her first full year with Spacesim and her first mission.

Matt Farkas-Dyck is Spacesim's resident electronics nut and white-hat computer hacker, equally at home on the mains or the mainframe. He aspires to be a 'real' astronaut, Canadian Prime Minister, and a musician, not necessarily at the same time. His interests include mathematics, linguistics, transportation systems, hacking, and various branches of science. He enjoys curling, cycling, and a good game of cribbage. He listens to heavy metal, although not exclusively. On the mission, he will be the Chief Engineer, responsible for spacecraft systems and the Power Grid software.

Daisy Wong was born in Ottawa in 1991, and has lived there for her whole life. She currently attends Lisgar Collegiate Institute, and works at Brewer Centennial Pool as an aquatics instructor and lifeguard. She enjoys gaming, music, soccer, chemistry, and having fun with her friends. She has been a member of OCESS since 2006 and is currently the Medic as well as a payload specialist for the 2007-2008 mission.

Ben Paul is a patriotic student of Lisgar Collegiate Institute. He is rabidly obsessed with gaming, game-designing, Latin, German, theoretical physics, Lego, music, online forums, literary pursuits, puzzles, and many other activities. He joined Spacesim in 2006, and has distinguished himself by extensively adding to and correcting the Spacesim Wiki. He is a payload specialist on this mission. He wants to be a Jedi after high school and university, though he has no clear plan for how to do this.

And all the way from Toronto...

Andy Chen is this year's exchange astronaut from the Richmond Hill High School Aeronautics and Space Association (based in Richmond Hill, north of Toronto). Born in China, he has spent high school in Richmond Hill. He has extensive interests in mathematics, physics, software development, and sports. He aspires to be a real astronaut and a test pilot for high-performance aircraft. His first dream is to popularize space exploration among Canadian high schools.

Unfortunately, due to complications involving school board approval, Mr. Chen was unable to attend this year's mission.