Growing up on a cattle farm in eastern Alberta, Joshua Kutryk says he dreamt of going to space though he never thought it would happen.
But a few months after Artemis II’s lunar flyby, the 44-year-old is preparing for a mission to the International Space Station that could lead to medical breakthroughs.
Kutryk is one of four members assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew 13 mission.
He will join NASA’s Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. Watkins will be returning to the space station for the second time.
The crew will spend six months at the station to conduct experiments and maintenance work.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the crew is expected to take off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, on Sept. 12.
“There’s something really unique and really special about being involved as a Canadian,” said Kutryk. “There is something very special about Canada’s space program and how much we do with it.”
The mission includes Canadian-led studies on how space travel and microgravity can affect human health.
According to Kutryk, much of the Canadian-sponsored science could have practical applications for future space exploration. But he added some of those studies will be able to advance medicine on Earth.
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The experiments could help develop treatments for heart disease or osteoporosis as radiation and microgravity affect cardiovascular health and bone density, he explained.
It can be efficient to conduct medical studies in space since the body ages faster in that environment, he added, during a press briefing.
“They’re using the space environment and my body as the sample case to study problems that all humans eventually encounter here on Earth,” Kutryk said.
Mathieu Caron, director of the astronauts’ office at the Canadian Space Agency, says space life sciences “has become a niche for Canada.”
The crew will also conduct maintenance work on the station, including the Canadian-made servicing system, nicknamed Canadarm 2. Kutryk will bring his expertise in robotics on board, said Caron.
Kutryk is the fourth Canadian to take part in a long-duration mission to the International Space Station.
Montreal-based space educator Trevor Kjorlen says that with NASA planning to decommission the station in 2030, Kutryk may be the last Canadian to live on the station.
“I think it’s a prime opportunity over the next six months after he launches for many Canadians to be able to see (the station), because it’ll probably be the last time they see it with a Canadian on board,” he said.
But Kutryk hopes that both the recent Artemis II and the future Crew 13’s missions will be a source of inspiration for young Canadians in technical fields. He says Canada has been at the forefront of space exploration with NASA by participating in both missions.
“I hope that when young people look at that, they realize that we’re at a truly defining moment,” he said.
“The future of space flight for Canada is very, very bright if you choose it to be so. There are going to be a lot of opportunities for future Canadian astronauts, engineers, scientists, more than there was for me growing up.”
After spending years physically and mentally preparing for the mission, Kutryk and his crew say they’re ready to take off in just a few weeks.
5 things to know about Kutryk
1. Kutryk dreamt of going to space when he was growing up on a cattle farm in eastern Alberta, which he described as “a long way from being here with this mission.”
2. Kutryk served as a CF-18 fighter pilot in Bagotville, Que., from 2007 to 2011, and was deployed to Libya and Afghanistan. He then worked as a test pilot in Cold Lake, Alta., until 2015. He says that as a pilot and astronaut, he loves to operate systems in high-risk, high-consequence environments.
3. Kutryk’s wife is currently pregnant with their third child, and is expected to be giving birth while he is at the International Space Station. The Canadian Space Agency says teams are in place to support the family.
4. He is only the fourth Canadian to conduct a long-duration mission at the International Space Station. David St-Jacques, the last Canadian who lived at the space station, returned to Earth in 2019 after a 204-day mission.
5. Kutryk will be become the first Canadian Space Agency astronaut to be part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which is held in partnership with American private companies like Boeing and SpaceX.
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Fort Saskatchewan-born astronaut heading to the International Space Station -
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Canadian Astronaut shares his experience in space -
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RMC graduate and astronaut Joshua Kutryk visits alma mater -
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CSA astronaut Joshua Kutryk joins Global News Morning ahead of Artemis I launch -
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Introducing Canada’s newest astronauts, Jenni Sidey and Joshua Kutryk
Nice that the USA is allowing Canadians to tag along on their space flights. Odd that the eastern Canadians that have been brainwashed into disliking the USA allows this.
I suspect @Arm is a member of the Flat Earth loons.
@Arm: I think you’re a little confused buddy
You mean he’s preparing to go into Disney studio and star in an astronaut video?
@Arm Respectfully, I’m glad to see another Canadian in space. There is no evidence of a space dome above earth.
No one is going to so-called space the only space they’re going to is up the space up in the air not to the space that you think exists or that they pretend exist and I know that it’s impossible that cannot Escape through the firmament that’s a fact look up operation fishbowl