The Canadian Astronaut Corps (French: ) is a unit of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and Russian space missions. , the corps has three active members.

History The original six astronauts selected in 1983 were under the auspices of the National Research Council of Canada. They were transferred to the Canadian Space Agency when it was established in 1989.

Since 1984, when Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space, nine CSA astronauts have flown on US NASA Space Shuttles and on Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 15 missions.

In May 2009, Robert Thirsk flew to the International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month stay, thus becoming the first Canadian to stay aboard the ISS for an extended period. On December 1, 2009, after spending 188 days in space, he returned to Earth aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian commander of the ISS, went on to achieve worldwide fame in 2013 for releasing a music video he recorded on the ISS of his version of David Bowie's song "Space Oddity". Astronaut Julie Payette went on to serve as the governor general of Canada, and Garneau became Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In April 2026, during the Artemis II mission, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen became the first non-American to travel beyond low Earth orbit and to the vicinity of the Moon.

Organization The Astronauts Corps is one of seven main divisions within the CSA. In addition to its Astronaut Corps, one of the most prominent contributions of Canada to space exploration is the robotic arm on the US Space Shuttles, the Canadarm.

There are three active astronauts in the corps (David Saint-Jacques, Joshua Kutryk, and Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons) and eleven former astronauts, nine of whom have gone into space. Of the ten current and former Canadian astronauts who have gone into space, two are women: Julie Payette and Roberta Bondar.

Qualifications The CSA generally recruits astronauts who have degrees as scientists, engineers or medical doctors. In addition to being Canadian citizens or residents, candidates must meet certain physical standards (including height, weight, hearing, and visual acuity), as well as educational requirements.

Members

Active astronauts , the corps has three active astronauts, two male and one female. Only one has previously flown to space, and one has an assignment to future missions.

Missions in italics are scheduled and subject to change.

Astronaut Missions Group Jenni Gibbons None, awaiting assignment 2017 Joshua Kutryk 1: SpaceX Crew-13 (Expedition 75) 2017 David Saint-Jacques 1: Soyuz MS-11 (Expedition 57/58/59) 2009

Former astronauts There are eleven former CSA astronauts.

Astronaut Missions Group Notes Roberta Lynn Bondar 1: STS-42 1983 First Canadian woman in space Marc Garneau 3: STS-41-G, STS-77, STS-97 1983 First Canadian in space Chris Hadfield 3: STS-74, STS-100, Soyuz TMA-07M (Expedition 34/35) 1992 Only Canadian to visit the Mir space station, first Canadian spacewalker, first Canadian commander of the ISS Jeremy Hansen 1: Artemis II 2009 First person not from the U.S. to travel beyond low Earth orbit and to the vicinity of the Moon Steve MacLean 2: STS-52, STS-115 1983 Michael McKay None 1992 Ken Money None 1983 Julie Payette 2: STS-96, STS-127 1992 First Canadian to visit the ISS Robert Thirsk 2: STS-78, Soyuz TMA-15 (Expedition 20/21) 1983 First Canadian to make a long-duration stay on the ISS Bjarni Tryggvason 1: STS-85 1983 Dafydd Williams 2: STS-90, STS-118 1992

Selection groups 1983 NRC Group: Roberta Bondar, Marc Garneau, Steve MacLean, Ken Money, Robert Thirsk and Bjarni Tryggvason (all transferred to CSA in 1989) 1992 CSA Group: Dafydd Williams, Julie Payette, Chris Hadfield and Michael McKay 2009 CSA Group: Jeremy Hansen and David Saint-Jacques 2017 CSA Group: Joshua Kutryk and Jenni Gibbons

See also Other astronaut corps: European Astronaut Corps NASA Astronaut Corps (United States) ISRO Astronaut Corps (India) JAXA Astronaut Corps (Japan) Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps (Russia) People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (China) List of astronauts by selection Human spaceflight History of spaceflight

References

External links Canadian Astronaut Corps History