TWO HILLS – Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk returned to his alma mater at Two Hills School on Feb. 6 to speak about his experiences as an astronaut and to chat and answer questions from the excited students.
Kutryk shared insights about his journey, speaking about how being an astronaut is more than just working in space for six months at a time, but it is also about working to advance science through research, discovery, and innovation.
Born in Fort Saskatchewan, Kutryk was raised on a cattle farm in eastern Alberta. He will be the next Canadian to head to the International Space Station (ISS) and it will be the first mission by a CSA astronaut under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
Astronauts are researchers, according to Kutryk. There are about 3,000 ongoing experiments at the ISS, including research on combustion, propulsion, and communication technology.
“Things that we need to figure out to go further into space,” he said.
There are also many research projects that have nothing to do with space but are related to solving problems on Earth. This could involve studying the human body or doing experiments that can only be done in the gravity-free environment at the ISS.
The space station is “a lab where we can do science that we can’t do anywhere else on Earth,” he explained.
This is why it takes years of studying and learning before someone gets selected to be an astronaut. Being an astronaut involves not only learning how to operate spacecraft and handling system maintenance but also understanding complex computer systems and different aspects of science.
For Kutryk, his love of science - particularly physics - played a huge role in shaping his career. When a student asked why he enjoys physics, he explained that physics is critical to understanding the laws of the universe.
And understanding the universe, he said, is key to advancing technology.
“The big stuff, like space, rockets, quantum computing, artificial intelligence – these all have roots in physics,” he said, adding physics also plays a critical part in working as an astronaut.
“I like being an astronaut because I get to live and work on the forefront of human technology,” he said. “Historically, we’ve always had to keep going . . . progressing . . . inventing new things . . . finding new ways to cure all diseases . . . finding new technologies,” he said.
In the past, “We did with boats and then airplanes.”
“It’s important to keep going . . . to keep looking on the horizon,” and to keep working on making seemingly impossible things possible, he said.
Other galaxies and discipline
A student also asked, “When do you think we’ll be able to explore other galaxies?”
Kutryk replied, “I don’t know,” but remained positive that someday, humanity will be able to. “I would tell you that space . . . has this habit of making things that we never thought were possible . . . [to be] possible.”
Kutryk also told students that he believes space is the future.
“Everyone at the space agency will tell you the same thing,” he said. “[Space] is where our inventions are going to come from.”
He added, “It’s where Canada’s future prosperity is going to come from.”
Grade 11 student Landon Trach said he felt honoured to have Kutryk come back to Two Hills. Kutryk is a living example that people can achieve anything.
“He’s a role model . . . He just shows that if you put your mind to it, you can do anything. I think it’s awesome to learn about what he’s done to go up to space.”
Trach acknowledges that Kutryk’s feats have required a lot of discipline. Having discipline, Trach said, is the most important thing he learned from the astronaut.
Vice Principal Kara Chalke, on behalf of Two Hills School, thanked the CSA and Kutryk for the visit.
“Our students have been vibrating for the last couple of weeks,” leading up to the visit, according to Chalke. “They’ve been working on art and science experiments and learning about Colonel [Joshua] Kutryk. They worked all week on these questions as a class.”
She added, “It was such a fantastic experience for our students.”
Also last week, Kutryk found himself making stops in Edmonton, which included a televised appearance at the Edmonton Oilers hockey game on Feb.7, and an event at the Edmonton Space and Science Centre on Feb. 6 and an event at the University of Alberta on Feb. 4.
