On December 3, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut David Saint-Jacques will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Soyuz rocket.
Expeditions have been heading to the ISS since October 2000, when the Expedition 1 crew became the first long-term residents of the Station.
David Saint-Jacques’ mission as part of Expedition 58, is set to be the longest for a Canadian aboard the ISS, where he will carry out scientific experiments, perform robotics tasks, test new technologies, and maybe go on a spacewalk. Expedition 58 crewmates are American Anne C. McClain and Oleg Kononenko from Russia.
David Saint-Jacques will be the third Canadian astronaut to take part in a long-duration mission. In 2009, Dr. Robert Thirsk became the first Canadian astronaut to visit ISS as a crew member of Expedition 20/21. From December 2012 to May 2013, Chris Hadfield flew with Expedition 34/35.