Featured
‘It’s going to be quite an adventure,’ Astronaut Jeremy Hansen told CKLB
Artemis II crew member Hansen visited NWT in 2025 to visit schools in Dettah, Ndılǫ, Łútsël K’é and dropped by CKLB’s studios to speak with Denendeh Sunrise host Roy Dahl
Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly congratulated Canadian Space Agency astronaut Col. Jeremy Hansen as the first Canadian to venture to the Moon, with Artemis II being the first crewed mission to Earth’s natural satellite since 1972.
Stated Joly following Wednesday’s launch: “Artemis II is a historic moment for Canada – a mission that showcases our national pride and leadership in space innovation. As Jeremy takes this historic step, he carries the strength of Canada’s space industry with him, and inspires a new generation of Canadians to reach for the Moon and beyond.”
The astronaut, fighter pilot, physicist and former aquanaut, London, Ontario’s Hansen is the first Canadian astronaut on a lunar mission, joining a crew to orbit the moon in 2026.
Hansen visited Yellowknife one year ago to visit schools in Dettah, Ndılǫ, Łútsël K’é and dropped by CKLB’s studios to speak with Denendeh Sunrise host Roy Dahl.
“I joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and flew CF-18s for a number of years — been through Yellowknife many times in an F-18 — and those experiences have really given me the skill set that I need to join this crew of four to head out to the moon,” Hansen said at the time. “There’ll be three Americans and myself, and we’ll go on a nine-day journey around the moon doing a test flight of this new vehicle. First time we will put humans in this new spacecraft — it’s going to be quite an adventure.”
Hansen is joined by NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch on this nearly 10-day mission.
The Artemis II crew launched aboard the Orion spacecraft on the Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:35 pm MST.
-
- The launch of the Artemis II crew aboard the Orion spacecraft on April 1, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
This week’s historic event marks Canada as only the second country to send an astronaut on a lunar mission.
This achievement reinforces Canada’s role as a trusted and capable partner in humanity’s return to deep space, stated a federal news release.
Selected as part of the third Canadian Astronaut Recruitment Campaign in 2009, Jeremy Hansen has done years of training to be ready for a space mission.
In April 2023, Jeremy Hansen was confirmed as a crewmember of the Artemis II mission, becoming the first CSA astronaut to be assigned to a lunar mission.
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jenni Gibbons, Canada’s official backup, will serve as Artemis capcom from ground control, assisting the crew throughout the flight, stated the federal news release.
The involvement of two Canadian astronauts in this endeavour underscores a proud national milestone, one that is the result of decades of Canadian expertise in space and innovation, and sets the stage for Canada’s role in the next era of space exploration, stated the release.
Over the course of the mission, the crew will travel more than two million kilometres, testing life-support, navigation, and other systems of Orion.
These tests will help determine if the spacecraft is ready to support future long-duration missions to deep space.
The crew is also set to venture beyond the far side of the Moon as part of a lunar flyby before returning to Earth. Orion will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
