Canadian Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the names of the astronauts that Canada plans to send on missions to space in the next two years.
Speaking from the Canadian Space Agency headquarters in Montreal, the minister stated, "An astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has been selected for a trip to the International Space Station. I am pleased to announce that Joshua Kutryk will be the fourth Canadian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station, expected to journey there in early 2025 aboard a Starliner spacecraft, with a mission duration of six months."
The minister also highlighted that Canadian astronaut Jenni Gibbons will serve as a backup for the Artemis 2 mission, managed by NASA, which is set to orbit the Moon in November 2024.
Previously, it was planned that three NASA astronauts would go to space as part of the Artemis 2 mission alongside Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Currently, Canada has four active and qualified astronauts for space missions: Joshua Kutryk, Jenni Gibbons, Jeremy Hansen, and David Saint-Jacques, who has previously visited the International Space Station.
