LAKELAND – Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk will speak virtually at the St. John’s Recreation Centre. Paul on November 11th on Memorial Day. Kutryk is no stranger to the Lakeland area, having lived in Elk Point when his father was in the community as an RCMP officer. On Memorial Day, Kutryk will take a virtual trip to St. Paul to talk about the past and the future, during official St. Paul ceremonies. Paul Royal Canadian Legion (RCL). “I want to speak, first and foremost, to remember the past and cherish the memories of those who fought for Canada’s heritage” throughout the nation’s history and more recently, said Kutryk, who was himself a colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He will talk about the importance of freedom and talk about humanity’s “greatest” mistakes, such as “the struggle on planet Earth”, which leads to hardship, pain and anguish. Talking about the past is vital as humanity looks to collectively work towards a better future, which Kutryk says will be part of his speech. “[Space] for me it is the future,” he adds. Kutryk says he is optimistic and sees countries working together to take advantage of opportunities in space, “rather than fighting each other.” “On a day like November 11, it’s worth reflecting on some of the mistakes we’ve made in the past as a group – as a planet – as all of us,” he says. “Expanding our collective horizon, exploring and discovering together, and building the future together in space.” As an astronaut, Kutryk also says he’s looking forward to the next two years of his career, explaining that CSA is excited to work on two major projects with NASA. The “most” exciting, according to Kutryk, is the Nov. 14 launch of the Artemis I mission stack, which will consist of a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and an uncrewed Orion spacecraft. Then, in 2024, he said a Canadian astronaut will be part of the four-member Artemis II crew. According to CSA information, Artemis II will be the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program. The Canadian astronaut who joins the crew will be the first non-American to fly to the moon and make Canada the second nation to “walk around the moon.” The CSA astronaut who will take part is still unknown. “The other thing we’re also excited about is that we’re still contributing as an active partner to the International Space Station (ISS),” he said. This includes research, development, innovation and training at the ISS National Laboratory. “The next couple of years are going to be pretty exciting for us and we can’t wait to see it happen,” Kutryk said. Kutryk concluded by thanking his colleagues, friends, family and the Lakeland community. He also said he is grateful for the opportunity to speak about issues he cares about and about issues he believes are important to everyone.
