Canadian astronaut joins NASA's SpaceX mission

Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk is set to head to the International Space Station later this year, joining NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13.

A news release from the Canadian Space Agency said it will be Kutryk’s first space mission. He will be the eighth Canadian Space Agency astronaut to fly to the International Space Station and the fourth on a long-duration mission.

During his months-long mission, the Canadian Space Agency said he will conduct several international and Canadian science experiments, many focusing on health-related research and space station maintenance and operations activities.

“As humans prepare to set foot on the surface of the Moon, it is essential to continue to deepen our understanding of what is required to allow humanity to live, learn and work in the harsh environment of space,” said the news release. “The Station is a unique testbed for these valuable experiments.”

Kutryk is expected to launch no earlier than mid-September 2026 from Florida, along with NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.

NASA said the flight is the 13th crew rotation with SpaceX to the space station as part of its Commercial Crew Program.

An engineer and former test and fighter pilot, Kutryk was recruited as a Canadian Space Agency astronaut in 2017 and completed his basic training in 2020.

He was previously assigned to Starliner-1, though NASA announced late last year that the mission would become an uncrewed cargo flight.

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen returned from a 10-day lunar flyby mission earlier this month.

The four-person Artemis II crew — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Hansen and Christina Koch — were the first human beings to go to the moon in more than 50 years. Hansen and his crewmates have travelled farther from the surface of the Earth than anyone before them.

Unlike the Apollo program, which sent men to the moon from 1968 through 1972, the Artemis program is preparing for a more permanent human lunar presence and is laying the groundwork to someday send astronauts to Mars.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2026.

—With files from Kelly Geraldine Malone