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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe NASA Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft prepares to launch at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo\/Chris O’Meara)<\/p>\n
He will join NASA\u2019s Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. Watkins will be returning to the space station for the second time.<\/p>\n
The crew will spend six months at the station to conduct experiments and maintenance work.<\/p>\n
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the crew is expected to take off from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, on Sept. 12.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something really unique and really special about being involved as a Canadian,\u201d said Kutryk. \u201cThere is something very special about Canada\u2019s space program and how much we do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mission includes Canadian-led studies on how space travel and microgravity can affect human health.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The experiments could help develop treatments for heart disease or osteoporosis as radiation and microgravity affect cardiovascular health and bone density, he explained.<\/p>\n
It can be efficient to conduct medical studies in space since the body ages faster in that environment, he added, during a press briefing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re using the space environment and my body as the sample case to study problems that all humans eventually encounter here on Earth,\u201d Kutryk said.<\/p>\n
Mathieu Caron, director of the astronauts\u2019 office at the Canadian Space Agency, says space life sciences \u201chas become a niche for Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Kutryk is the fourth Canadian to take part in a long-duration mission to the International Space Station.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a prime opportunity over the next six months after he launches for many Canadians to be able to see (the station), because it\u2019ll probably be the last time they see it with a Canadian on board,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But Kutryk hopes that both the recent Artemis II and the future Crew 13\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that when young people look at that, they realize that we\u2019re at a truly defining moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
After spending years physically and mentally preparing for the mission, Kutryk and his crew say they\u2019re ready to take off in just a few weeks.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2026.<\/p>\n
Note to readers:This is a corrected story. A previous version misspelled Joshua Kutryk\u2019s surname. A previous version also had an incorrect location for the farm where Kutryk grew up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Growing up on a cattle farm in eastern Alberta, Joshua Kutryk says he dreamt of going to space…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":845244,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-845243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845243\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}