Canada committed Tuesday to flying two astronauts to space within the next decade as part of its renewed participation with the International Space Station program.

The ISS is a joint endeavor by Canada, the United States, Japan, Russia, and the European Union. Canada is the third country to extend its participation until 2024.

According to the Canadian Space Agency, Canadian astronauts Jeremy Hansen and David Saint-Jacques are already training for the missions.

Meanwhile, Ottawa also said it hopes to participate in future space missions "to the moon, Mars and beyond."

To that end, Canada is extending by two years its collaboration with NASA in the Mars Science Laboratory mission, also known as the Mars Curiosity rover.

The Canadian Space Agency also is contributing Can$10.5 million to MDA to continue its technical support for the space station's robotic arms.

And four new Canadian science experiments will be performed aboard the ISS in the fall to test the effects of weightlessness on the human body and probe health issues caused by space travel.
Source: AFP