Canada's new astronauts take tips from veterans in space

Canada's two new astronaut recruits will get a chance to pick the brains ofthe experiencedastronauts currently working aboard the space station today. They'll alsospeak publicly for the last time before heading fortwo years of intensive basic training at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Joshua Kutryk, 35, of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., and Jennifer (Jenni) Sidey, 29, of Calgary,will join12 NASA astronaut candidates for a live chat with the astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station, the crew of NASA's Expedition 52, followed by a news conference. The event will be streamed live starting 12:45 p.m. ET

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The Canadian Space Agency's two newest astronaut candidateswere named by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on July 1 as the country marked its 150th birthday.

They won't officially be astronauts until they complete their basic training, which includes flight training, parachute jumps, survival training, space operations and procedures, roboticsand Russian language classes, along with lessons on less specializedskillssuch asmedia relations, first aid, and photography.

Part of their basic training will take place in Houston and part of it at the Canadian Space Agency headquarters in Saint-Hubert, Que.

Sideywas previouslya lecturer with the University of Cambridge who has worked as a mechanical engineer, while Kutrykwasan air force pilot with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in defence studies.