Rising up on a cattle farm in jap Alberta, Joshua Kutryk says he dreamt of going to house although he by no means thought it could occur.
However a number of months after Artemis II’s lunar flyby, the 44-year-old is making ready for a mission to the Worldwide Area Station that would result in medical breakthroughs.
Kutryk is one among 4 members assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew 13 mission.
He’ll be part of NASA’s Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, in addition to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. Watkins shall be returning to the house station for the second time.
The crew will spend six months on the station to conduct experiments and upkeep work.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the crew is predicted to take off from NASA’s Kennedy Area Heart, in Florida, on Sept. 12.
“There’s one thing actually distinctive and actually particular about being concerned as a Canadian,” mentioned Kutryk. “There’s something very particular about Canada’s house program and the way a lot we do with it.”
The mission contains Canadian-led research on how house journey and microgravity can have an effect on human well being.
Get breaking Nationwide information
Get breaking Canada information delivered to your inbox because it occurs so you will not miss a trending story.
In keeping with Kutryk, a lot of the Canadian-sponsored science might have sensible purposes for future house exploration. However he added a few of these research will be capable of advance medication on Earth.
The experiments might assist develop remedies for coronary heart illness or osteoporosis as radiation and microgravity have an effect on cardiovascular well being and bone density, he defined.
It may be environment friendly to conduct medical research in house for the reason that physique ages quicker in that setting, he added, throughout a press briefing.
“They’re utilizing the house setting and my physique because the pattern case to check issues that each one people ultimately encounter right here on Earth,” Kutryk mentioned.
Mathieu Caron, director of the astronauts’ workplace on the Canadian Area Company, says house life sciences “has change into a distinct segment for Canada.”
The crew may also conduct upkeep work on the station, together with the Canadian-made servicing system, nicknamed Canadarm 2. Kutryk will deliver his experience in robotics on board, mentioned Caron.
Kutryk is the fourth Canadian to participate in a long-duration mission to the Worldwide Area Station.
Montreal-based house educator Trevor Kjorlen says that with NASA planning to decommission the station in 2030, Kutryk could be the final Canadian to stay on the station.
“I feel it’s a chief alternative over the following six months after he launches for a lot of Canadians to have the ability to see (the station), as a result of it’ll most likely be the final time they see it with a Canadian on board,” he mentioned.
However Kutryk hopes that each the latest Artemis II and the longer term Crew 13’s missions shall be a supply of inspiration for younger Canadians in technical fields. He says Canada has been on the forefront of house exploration with NASA by collaborating in each missions.
“I hope that when younger folks take a look at that, they understand that we’re at a really defining second,” he mentioned.
“The way forward for house flight for Canada may be very, very vivid in the event you select it to be so. There are going to be quite a lot of alternatives for future Canadian astronauts, engineers, scientists, greater than there was for me rising up.”
After spending years bodily and mentally making ready for the mission, Kutryk and his crew say they’re able to take off in only a few weeks.
5 issues to find out about Kutryk
1. Kutryk dreamt of going to house when he was rising up on a cattle farm in jap Alberta, which he described as “a good distance from being right 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 labored as a take a look at pilot in Chilly Lake, Alta., till 2015. He says that as a pilot and astronaut, he likes to function methods in high-risk, high-consequence environments.
3. Kutryk’s spouse is at the moment pregnant with their third youngster, and is predicted to be giving beginning whereas he’s on the Worldwide Area Station. The Canadian Area Company says groups are in place to assist the household.
4. He’s solely the fourth Canadian to conduct a long-duration mission on the Worldwide Area Station. David St-Jacques, the final Canadian who lived on the house station, returned to Earth in 2019 after a 204-day mission.
5. Kutryk shall be change into the primary Canadian Area Company astronaut to be a part of NASA’s Industrial Crew Program, which is held in partnership with American personal corporations like Boeing and SpaceX.
© 2026 The Canadian Press