Jeremy Hansen of Artemis 2 Is Optimistic Canadian Astronaut Will Walk on the Moon, Go to Mars

Jeremy Hansen, an astronaut of Artemis 2, shares his prediction for lunar realms. He is hopeful that astronauts from Canada will contribute more to science and deep space.

Jeremy Hansen of Canada's Artemis II Speaks Up

On April 3, Hansen was appointed to serve as Canada's representative on Artemis 2. Within days, the seasoned test pilot found himself traveling to new places, interacting with Stephen Colbert and attending the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, visiting policymakers in Canada and the United States, taking part in an Indigenous vision quest, and carrying the flag at Charles III's coronation.

The Artemis II crew started training on May 15 after connecting with several communities affected by space and learning about the Orion spacecraft's computers and control systems.

For himself and his three crewmates, commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch, and pilot Victor Glover, all NASA astronauts, Hansen is certain of a few things.

To get ready for looking at moon craters, geology training will be conducted, possibly with Canadian crater expert Gordon Osinski, with whom Hansen just made a rare Earth crater discovery on an earlier mission. Hansen stressed that there would also be ongoing discussions with American and Canadian policymakers to determine the best course of action following Artemis II.

You'll eventually see humans conducting fantastic research in deep space, according to Hansen. He added that we now have the capability to execute it in a way that benefits Canadians, so a Canadian astronaut will walk on the moon one day and eventually go to Mars.

According to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Canada will likely have seats on Artemis 4 and 6, two planned moon-landing missions expected to launch towards the end of the decade.

According to SpaceQ, Martin Bergeron, the CSA's director of space exploration development, revealed those preliminary conversations during the Canadian Lunar Workshop in late May. Artemis III's first landing mission could happen in 2025 or 2026.

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Who Is Jeremy Hansen?

Hensen, 47, was born on Jan. 27, 1976, in London, Ontario. He is an astronaut of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), which will fly to the Moon on the Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight test of the Orion spacecraft, which will launch on the SLS rocket. He is the first Canadian astronaut to fly to the Moon, according to the Government of Canada.

He was raised on a farm near Ailsa Craig, Ontario. He moved to Ingersoll for his high school years. Hansen is married and is a father of three. He is a fan of sailboat cruising and racing. He also enjoys rock climbing and mountain biking.

Hansen earned his private pilot license and wings in 1993 when he was 17 years old. The training led to his acceptance to the Royal Military College Saint-Jean in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.

After a year, he was accepted for Officer Training in the Canadian Armed Forces and completed Basic Training in Chilliwack, B.C. He also started his degree at Royal Military College Saint-Jean in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.

Hansen earned his bachelor's degree in space science from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, in 1999. In 2009, he was one of the two recruits selected by the CSA through the third Canadian Astronaut Recruitment Campaign.