On March 24, the Canadian government officially committed to extending the life of the International Space Station by 2030 and joined other Western partners, but not Russia. As part of the summit held in Ottawa between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden, the governments of the two countries confirmed that Canada will join the ISS by 2030 as part of its renewed commitment to space exploration, including a contribution to the Moon. Under the direction of NASA. sluice.

“Prime Minister Trudeau has agreed to expand Canada’s commitment to the International Space Station (ISS) and support Moongate science,” the Canadian government said in a statement summarizing overall cooperation between the two countries. Said. “Our country’s continued participation in the ISS and Lunar Gateway strengthens Canada’s global leadership in robotics in space and on Earth.”

At the end of 2021, the White House announced its intention to extend the ISS to 2030. Since then, the US has been working with its main partners to confirm their participation in the station beyond the previously agreed 2024 date. The Japanese government formally agreed to the extension at the European Space Agency ministerial meeting in November 2022 and shortly thereafter.

Canada was also expected to agree to an extension. “No one expected Canada to make a decision before the United States or even ESA or Roscosmos,” said Christian Lange, one of the Canadian Space Agency representatives at a conference in January 2022. At the time, he said the White House announcement would allow the agency to “suggest options and make timely decisions,” but did not give any timeframe for that.

“The United States strongly welcomed Canada’s decision to support the continuation of the International Space Station through 2030,” the White House said in a statement at the end of the bulletin.

Thanks to Canada’s announcement, Russia has become the only partner of the ISS that has not agreed to extend it until 2030. In July last year, the new head of Roscosmos, Yuriy Borisov, announced that Russia would withdraw from its partnership with the ISS after 2024. Authorities later clarified that this meant some time after 2024, not just after 2024.

In February, the Roscosmos board approved a plan to continue operating the Russian station until 2028. The agency said it would then prepare documents to obtain official permission from the Russian government for this expansion. The United States and Canada also announced that the Artemis 2 crew, the first manned flight of the Orion spacecraft, will be announced soon. The four-man team will be announced at an event in Houston on April 3.

One in four will be Canadian as part of an agreement NASA and the Canadian Space Agency announced in late 2020 for Canada’s contribution to Gateway. In exchange for providing the Canadarm3 robotic arm to Gateway, Canada received a seat on Artemis 2 and a future, uncertain assignment to Gateway.

Biden talked about the Artemis 2 announcement in his speech at the Canadian Parliament on March 24. “In a few days, NASA will announce the international team of astronauts that will form the crew of the Artemis 2 mission. It will be the first human journey to the moon since the end of the Apollo mission more than 50 years ago. Three Americans and one Canadian,” he said. “We will return to the moon together.”