Sky News - CA (2020-03 & 2020-04)

By Allendria Brunjes

New Canadian astronauts ready to take light

Canadian Space Agency astronauts Jenni Sidey-Gibbons, Joshua Kutryk and Jeremy Hansen experience temporary weightlessness during

microgravity familiarization training. Sidey-Gibbons and Kutryk graduated from basic training with their NASA classmates January 10, and their

class was the irst to be supervised by Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. (Canadian Space Agency)

A couple of Canadians on the Moon? It could happen

sooner rather than later.

In January, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronauts Jenni

Sidey-Gibbons and Joshua Kutryk joined NASA classmates

in celebrating the end of their basic training at the Johnson

Space Center in Houston.

he duo are oicially becoming astronauts at a time when

countries around the world are preparing to send humans

beyond the International Space Station, CSA stated in a

press release.

Last year, Canada announced its partnership in the Lunar

Gateway, a space station set to be in lunar orbit. Led by

NASA, the mini-station would be about one-ifth of the size of

the International Space Station (ISS) and developed, serviced

and used in collaboration with international and commercial

partners. Canada plans to contribute a robotic arm, equipped

with artiicial intelligence, called Canadarm3 — a successor

project to the Canadarm and Canadarm2 robotic arms for

the space shuttle and ISS.

Gateway is part of the Artemis program that aims to put

astronauts, including the irst woman, on the Moon by 2024.

“As part of a new generation of space explorers, Jenni and

Joshua are ready to represent Canada on missions to the

International Space Station, the Moon, or perhaps even Mars,”

the CSA stated. “hey will continue to push the boundaries

of science and technology, while advancing our knowledge

of the universe.”

he CSA selected Sidey-Gibbons and Kutryk to become the

next Canadian astronauts in July 2017; the agency lists them

as Canada’s 13th and 14th astronauts. Spacelight dates for

the pair have not been announced yet; at the current mission

pace, Canada tends to ly astronauts every ive or six years.

SKYNEWS BRIEFS

SKYNEWS • MAR/APR 2020