5 things to know about the Canadian astronaut joining NASA’s Crew 13

A few months after Artemis II’s lunar flyby, another Canadian astronaut is preparing for a mission in space. 

The Canadian Space Agency’s Joshua Kutryk is one of four members assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew 13 mission. 

The crew will spend six months at the International Space Station to conduct health experiments and maintenance work.

Here are five things to know about Kutryk. 

1. Kutryk dreamt of going to space when he was growing up on a cattle farm in eastern Alberta, which he described as “a long way from being here with this mission.”

2. Kutryk served as a CF-18 fighter pilot in Bagotville, Que., from 2007 to 2011, and was deployed to Libya and Afghanistan. He then worked as a test pilot in Cold Lake, Alta., until 2015. He says that as a pilot and astronaut, he loves to operate systems in high-risk, high-consequence environments.

3. Kutryk’s wife is currently pregnant with their third child, and is expected to be giving birth while he is at the International Space Station. The Canadian Space Agency says teams are in place to support the family.

4. He is only the fourth Canadian to conduct a long-duration mission at the International Space Station. David St-Jacques, the last Canadian who lived at the space station, returned to Earth in 2019 after a 204-day mission.

5. Kutryk will be become the first Canadian Space Agency astronaut to be part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which is held in partnership with American private companies like Boeing and SpaceX. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2026.

By Erika Morris | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.