Canadian astronaut to take first command of space station in 2013

　

OTTAWA, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced Thursday that veteran astronaut Chris Hadfield will return to space for a third time and become the first Canadian Commander of the International Space Station (ISS) in March 2013.

　
　

Hadfield will launch aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in December 2012, and take command of the station during the second half of a six-month mission, Canadian Minister of State (Science and Technology) Gary Goodyear said at a news conference at CSA headquarters in Longueuil, Quebec.

　
　

This will be the second long-duration mission for a Canadian astronaut.

　
　

"To have this opportunity is extremely challenging, extremely exciting for me and extremely rewarding as well," Hadfield told the news conference.

　
　

It will be the astronaut"s third trip to space. Hadfield, who was born in Sarnia, Ontario and is married with three children, was first selected to become an astronaut in June 1992.

　
　

He added that there is some recreational time. The station has a Canadian-made guitar aboard, and all of his crew is guitar players.

　
　

"The selection of a Canadian astronaut for a long-duration mission and as Commander of the International Space Station reflects the achievements of our space exploration program and the renowned quality of our Canadian Astronaut Corps," Goodyear said.

　
　

Hadfield"s crew will consist of himself, a Russian and an American, and they will join three other astronauts already on the station.

　
　

As ISS Commander, Hadfield will be responsible for the safety of the crew, ongoing operations, maintenance and equipment of the ISS, while ensuring that the scientific experiments are carried out on behalf of Canadian and international scientists.

　
　

Hadfield is scheduled to return to Earth in a Soyuz spacecraft, landing in Kazakhstan in June 2013.

　
　

Hadfield has achieved a distinguished career in space exploration. He is the only Canadian to board Mir, the Russian Space Station, in 1995 and the first Canadian to perform a spacewalk -- a feat accomplished when he attached Canadarm2 to the ISS in 2001.

　
　

The ISS is an orbital laboratory created, maintained and used for science and technology development by Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States.

　
　

Astronauts are assigned to the ISS for six-month periods which are ideal for studying the long-term effects of weightlessness on the human body.

　
　

Crew members conduct experiments daily on behalf of scientists on the ground, and the results contribute to new insights into human health issues, improving understanding and control over physical processes that affect many of us.

　
　

While the science and technological innovation carried out on the ISS has great potential to improve our lives, it will also be applied to future space exploration efforts that will extend humanity"s reach across the solar system.

　
　

The International Space Station will host NASA"s last shuttle mission, scheduled for launch Feb. 26, 2011.

　
　

The shuttle Endeavour will carry a 2-billion U.S. dollars machine to the station to jump-start the search for anti-matter and other phenomena.

　
　

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer will be attached to the station to collect evidence of antimatter, dark matter and other hard-to- find elements of the universe over the next 20 years.
　

　

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