🍁 NORTH OF POLITE

By Gary Goose
A little Sunday lift from North of Polite

I fly south every winter and usually consider that an accomplishment.

Joshua Kutryk has rather spoiled my bragging rights.

On October 1, the Canadian astronaut launched toward the International Space Station aboard a Falcon 9 rocket as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission. His assignment calls for approximately six months living and working aboard the station.

My assignment generally involves finding somewhere warm and arguing with another goose over a patch of grass. We all contribute in our own way.

Kutryk’s flight marks the first Canadian journey under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and the fourth long-duration mission for a Canadian Space Agency astronaut. Canadians gathered at launch events to watch him go.

There is something lovely about that: people stopping their day to watch someone attempt something extraordinary.

Perhaps you watched. Perhaps you were working, getting the children ready or wondering what to make for supper. Either way, here is a bit of news worth enjoying over your coffee.

He has work to do up there

Kutryk’s mission includes station operations, maintenance and scientific experiments. Canadian investigations will gather information about astronaut health, with the goal of helping future exploration and improving life on Earth.

In plain English, researchers want to understand what happens to our bodies in space and what those findings might teach us.

Those are research goals, rather than promises of an instant medical breakthrough. Science takes patience, careful measurements and people willing to keep asking questions.

Apparently, it also takes someone willing to travel a considerable distance to the laboratory.

A reason to look up

What I like about this story is the invitation it offers.

To a child fascinated by the sky, it says there is something worth learning about. To a student struggling through science, it offers a glimpse of where those lessons might lead. To the rest of us, it provides a moment to appreciate skill, preparation and curiosity.

You do not have to understand rocket engineering to enjoy seeing a Canadian take part.

I certainly don’t. My usual launch procedure is a running start and a certain amount of honking.

And although an astronaut gets the photograph, a mission like this invites us to appreciate the people whose work makes it possible: the teams designing, building, maintaining and supporting the equipment.

As a goose, I tend to notice a good formation.

Canada has plenty of difficult stories that deserve our attention. We will keep covering them. There should also be room for an achievement that makes us smile.

So, well done, Joshua. Safe travels, productive experiments and a good journey home.

I shall continue heading south under my own power.

I would have volunteered for the space assignment, but I have serious concerns about the legroom.

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