Canada's own Jeremy Hansen, a CF-18 pilot from London, Ont., will be on the first moon mission in 52 years.
Hansen joins American astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Hammock Koch to fulfil the Artemis II mission, a U.S.-Canada venture. The launch will come no earlier than November 2024, the Canadian Space Agency says, and will have astronauts travel around the moon aboard the Orion spacecraft for approximately 10 days.
The Artemis II mission is the first time a Canadian will participate in a lunar mission, something Hansen does not take lightly.
"I hope Canadians are so proud, as proud as I am, about what we've accomplished," Hansen told CTV's Your Morning on Tuesday. "We have done this over decades, step after step, challenge after challenge, and we're really getting stuff done."
The Artemis II mission will mark the first human travel aboard the Orion after a successful launch and orbit last year during the first Artemis mission. Hansen says the first 18 hours of the Artemis II mission will be intense, with the crew ensuring the spacecraft is functioning properly before launching into deep space.
"We'll spend about a day and a half in Earth orbit," Hansen said. "We will be in low Earth orbit, then we'll be in a really high Earth orbit, that means I'll get some tremendous views of our planet."
Once the craft is ready, the crew will blast off towards the moon, which Hansen says will take approximately four Earth days to get to.
"The moon will get bigger and bigger and eventually I will have this absolutely incredible view. I'll be looking at planet Earth through (from) the moon, and I just can't wait to see that, it's going to be extraordinary."
Artemis II will be the first crewed mission to the moon since the final Apollo mission took flight in 1972. The crew will rocket hundreds of thousands of kilometres creating a figure-8 around the moon, making them the first humans to ever venture into deep space — the region beyond the dark side of the moon.
The mission is a precursor test for the next phase of Artemis: to put the first woman and person of colour on the moon as early as 2025, with the ultimate goal of eventually dispatching astronauts to Mars.
Hansen got the news he would be heading to space a few weeks prior to the public announcement on Monday. The call from the Canadian Space Agency reached Hansen at his home in Houston.
Throughout his career, Hansen said his teenaged kids have sometimes gotten "fatigued" from hearing about space, but this time it was different.
"They were truly authentically excited, (saying) 'Wow, this is amazing. You've wanted to do this for so long. We're so glad that you get this opportunity to fly,'" he said. "And that was really meaningful for me."
The Artemis II mission is the first time Hansen will go to space -- something he hopes showcases Canada as a leader on the international stage.
"I think a lot of Canadians probably don't realize the amazing work we are doing and the International Space Program," he said. "We have a tremendous reputation, we bring real value and our flags were flying proudly on that American stage yesterday."
To watch the full interview click the video at the top of this article.
With files from The Canadian Press.
