MONTREAL - Veteran Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk won't be leaving Earth anymore.
Thirsk has decided that his six-month visit to the International Space Station last year was his last trip into space.
The 57-year-old astronaut, who was born in New Westminster, B.C., was one of the first six original Canadian astronauts selected in 1983.
Thirsk told The Canadian Press it is time to move over and make room for the country's two newest astronauts Jeremy Hansen and David Saint-Jacques.
The two were picked in May 2009 from over 5,300 applications and are currently undergoing training.
Thirsk spent 188 days aboard the space station last year - the longest time a Canadian astronaut have ever been in space.
He made his comments Sunday at McGill University where he and now retired fellow astronaut Dave Williams, dropped in for a visit to their alma mater.
