CTVNews.ca Staff Published Thursday, December 18, 2014 11:24AM EST Last Updated Thursday, December 18, 2014 1:50PM EST

One of Canada's new astronauts is proud Canada is playing a role in an upcoming year-long expedition aboard the International Space Station, saying he hopes it adds to our knowledge about long-duration space flight..

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko of Roscosmos (the Russian Federal Space Agency) are due to blast off to the ISS in March, 2015, to begin a years stay aboard the orbiting laboratory. It will be the longest time astronauts have spent on the Station in a single mission.

The Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen says Canada will be playing a supporting role in the mission, with the Canadarm robotics team helping with station maintenance and spacewalks, as well as capturing visiting vehicles bringing supplies to and from the ISS.

Hansen says it is his hope that the mission will provide valuable information about long-term space travel information that he himself might one day be able to use.

"I personally hope to someday be part of some missions that takes me beyond low-earth orbit," Hansen said at a European Space Agency news conference Thursday in Paris.

That may not happen for a while. NASA has said that no Canadians will be travelling to the ISS anytime soon, as all flights are booked to the end of 2016, but an opportunity could open up in 2019-2020.

Hansen has been working to be sure he'll be ready and said Thursday he welcomed the chance to speak with Scott Kelly to find out what it's like to prepare mentally for a long stay in space.

"Some of these missions will require significant periods of time in space. And I'm very interested in how one prepares for that," he said.

Understanding the effects of long-term space travel will also be crucial to any future trips to Mars, Hansen said a dream he fully expects will be realized in his lifetime.

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Astronaut Hansen proud Canada playing role in year-long ISS mission