‘This little bit of perfection’: Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk on seeing Earth from space

Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk says his first two weeks aboard the International Space Station have been unforgettable as he adjusts to life in microgravity and begins research into the effects of long-term space travel on the human body.

“It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen,” Kutryk said of looking back at Earth from the station.

Growing up in northern Alberta, Kutryk was familiar with the northern lights, but seeing them from above offered an entirely different perspective.

“To see the whole Earth, the curvature of the Earth, just embraced by this blanket of dancing fluorescent oranges and yellows and pinks — magical,” he said.

Kutryk, 44, launched Oct. 1 as part of NASA’s four-person Crew 13, arriving at the space station in just under eight hours.

The former CF-18 fighter pilot is serving as a mission specialist during the six-month mission, which will include scientific experiments, research and critical maintenance work.

“It is important for Canada to be here,” Kutryk said Tuesday while answering questions from Canadian journalists in Longueuil, Que.

“We take a lot of benefits from these missions and it’s something that we hope we can continue.”

Kutryk said the launch itself was exhilarating and spectacular, adding that no amount of training could fully prepare him for the experience.

“Everything about being here for the first couple weeks is very special,” he said.

But living in space also requires an adjustment. Kutryk said even routine tasks such as eating, sleeping and moving around can take practice in microgravity.

“You have to sort of learn to do everything again, almost like you’re a child,” he said. “How you eat, how you move around, how you sleep, how you fall asleep, what do you do with your neck when you’re sleeping? What do you do with your hands?”

Kutryk has already begun experiments, several of which are related to the physical challenges astronauts experience during extended periods in space. He said he has lost five pounds since arriving at the station.

“Humans on a six-month mission lose a lot of bone, a lot of muscle and come back to Earth, frankly, a lot older physiologically and not very healthy,” Kutryk said. “So it’s a big concern of ours.”

The mission includes Canadian-led studies examining how space travel and microgravity affect human health. During Tuesday’s orbital press conference, Kutryk was wearing equipment for the AstroFit research project, which monitors his health and is aimed at finding ways to allow humans to spend longer periods in space.

The space station is a long way from the Alberta cattle farm where Kutryk grew up, but a small piece of his family’s history is there with him.

A pocket watch his relatives brought with them when they immigrated to Canada from Ukraine four generations ago had been sent to the station ahead of him.

Kutryk said the watch sits near where he sleeps. Holding it makes him think about how much technology has changed over the past century and how his ancestors could never have imagined the journey he is now taking.

His own journey to space was a lifelong goal, and Kutryk said it was difficult to describe the first time he saw Earth from orbit.

“It’s just one world. It’s one thing hanging in the blackness of space and you don’t see all the countries and the problems and all the challenges,” he said.

“You just see this little bit of perfection that we should really, really be trying to protect.”

Kutryk’s mission comes in the same year Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen travelled aboard the Artemis II mission in April. The 10-day lunar fly-around marked humanity’s first journey to the moon in more than 50 years.

Kutryk said Canada’s presence aboard the space station demonstrates what the country can accomplish when it pursues ambitious goals and takes risks, while encouraging Canadian industry, academia and commercial interests to take part in space exploration.

“That’s how we innovate, that’s how we develop new technologies, that’s what we want to be doing,” he said.

–with files from The Canadian Press