Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk readies for six-month ISS stint on SpaceX Crew-13

Joshua Kutryk, a 44-year-old from a Fort Saskatchewan cattle farm, will join NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission as one of four crew members heading to the International Space Station. Alongside NASA’s Jessica Watkins, who returns for a second stay, Luke Delaney, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, Kutryk will spend half a year aboard the orbiting laboratory. Their itinerary features Canadian-sponsored studies examining how space-induced radiation and weightlessness affect cardiovascular function and bone loss, research that could translate into treatments for heart disease and osteoporosis on Earth.

The team will also perform upkeep tasks, including work on the Canadian-built Canadarm2, leveraging Kutryk’s robotics background. The SpaceX Dragon capsule is slated for liftoff from Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 12, marking a milestone for Canada’s space program as the nation approaches the planned 2030 retirement of the ISS.