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The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne addresses the media and assembled Canadian Space Agency employees throughout the November 22, 2023 Crew Task announcement, held at CSA headquarters. Credit: Sean Costello
Two Canadian Space Agency astronauts received flight assignments for missions, one to the International Space Station and one other as a backup for Artemis 2.
During a Nov. 22 announcement, the CSA announced Joshua Kutryk will fly to the ISS for a six-month mission in 2025. Moreover, Jenni Gibbons was chosen to serve because the backup for Jeremy Hansen, who Canada selected to fly with NASA astronauts for the Artemis 2 lunar flyby mission as early as late 2024.
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Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk addresses agency colleagues and media throughout the November 22, 2023 Crew Task announcement event, held within the Rotunda at CSA headquarters in Longueuil, Quebec. Joining Kutryk are fellow astronaut Jenni Gibbons, Minister François-Philippe Champagne, and CSA President Lisa Campbell. Credit: Sean Costello
Kutryk, 41, and Gibbons, 35, were each chosen to be astronauts by the CSA in 2017. They’re amongst 4 astronauts within the Canadian astronaut corps, which incorporates 47-year-old Hansen in addition to David Saint-Jacques, 53, who lived aboard the ISS for greater than 203 days between December 2018 and June 2019.
Kutryk’s flight to the space station is predicted to be aboard the primary crew rotation mission using Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner in early 2025. This might be the fourth extended-duration mission for a Canadian astronaut.
A Colonel within the Royal Canadian Air Force, Kutryk served in Libya and Afghanistan. He can be an experimental test pilot.
Gibbons is predicted to start training alongside Hansen, who was chosen to fly the Artemis 2 moon mission in April. She has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a PhD in engineering.
Artemis 2 is ready to be a 10-day flight aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft. The NASA astronauts on that mission include commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and payload specialist Christina Koch.
Over the course of Artemis 2, the crew will test Orion’s various systems before performing a free-return flight across the Moon — the primary human lunar mission in greater than 50 years. Hansen is to be the primary Canadian to fly into deep space; should he be unable to participate, that distinction would now fall to Gibbons.