This could be the last time

This Thursday, November 5th, Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk will head out the door of the International Space Station to do another spacewalk. 

Could this be the final time we see a Canadian do a spacewalk for decades to come?

The final Canadian on ISS?

Before Joshua lifted off, I’ve noted that he might be the last Canadian to live aboard the ISS. Here’s why:

The ISS will eventually need to be de-orbited. Originally, the ISS was supposed to be operational for only 15 years, but we're now at the 28 year mark. While NASA has committed to operate the ISS to 2030, its end might not be long after that.

If that’s the case, there’s not much time left for another Canadian, astronaut Jenni Gibbons, to do a mission on the station. 

The last Canadian aboard ISS was David Saint-Jacques in 2019. 7 years ago. 

The last Canadian before that was Chris Hadfield in 2013. 6 years prior. 

When Joshua’s mission ends in spring 2027, if this cadence continues, Jenni would need to do a mission in 2033. Will ISS be around then?

Artemis and Jenni Gibbons

Even if the ISS is operational by 2033, my hope is that Jenni Gibbons will be assigned to a future Artemis mission around the Moon. 

She was Jeremy Hansen’s backup for Artemis II, so she has the training for the Orion capsule, the likely vehicle used in a future Artemis mission. 

She was also a CAPCOM (capsule communicator) during Artemis II. Another notch for her. 

In December 2020, when NASA and the CSA announced the Gateway Treaty, it was promised Canada would get 2 astronaut seats. 

Now that Lunar Gateway has been paused, is this seat still available? If so, it makes sense this would be for Jenni Gibbons.

New Canadian astronaut campaign?

Minister of Industry Melanie Joly recently discussed with SpaceQ that Canada might be on the search for more Canadian astronauts. Let’s say that they chose astronauts by next year, 2027. Here’s the time frame that recent astronauts were chosen to their launch date:

• DSJ: 2009, 2018 (9 years)
• JH: 2009, 2026 (17 years)
• JK: 2017, 2026 (9 years)

It’s not impossible that Jenni could be assigned an ISS mission before de-orbit. It’s also not impossible that Jenni could fly around the Moon, and that the ISS could be around and operational in 2036. 

But I’m not taking my chances. Everything that happens on this missions, I’m assuming it might be for the last time, including Canadian spacewalks. 

And I’m appreciating the mission a lot more because of that, and I'm hoping you do too.