By The Canadian Press

LONGUEUIL, Que, - A Canadian astronaut is making an out-of-this-world contribution to help doctors on Earth deal with viruses like H1N1.

Bob Thirsk, from his current home on the International Space Station, is conducting an experiment on changes in the body's immune system.

Despite that experiment, the space station may be the safest place possible to avoid swine flu.

Thirsk says astronauts are quarantined for one week before they take off for a visit to the orbiting lab.

Thirsk holds the record for the Canadian astronaut with the longest time spent in space, and is due to return to Earth Dec.1.