The Strathcona Standard

Astronauts will be returning to the moon next month for the first time since 1972, and this time, one of them will be a Canadian.

  Jeremy Hansen, who just turned 50, will be part of NASA’s Artemis II mission, which is intended to put the space agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and its Orion spacecraft to the test in deep space. The goal is to see how the systems perform on a long-term mission, and to collect information to help build a long-term human presence on the moon while preparing for a future crewed mission to Mars.

 “People often ask, why did it take so long for us to go back to the moon,” Hansen says in a video published by the Canadian Space Agency. “Now we’re at the point where we have these great commercial partnerships, new technologies. Returning to the moon is going to focus some of our greatest minds to accomplish some extraordinary things and to innovate in ways that will help us not only just get to the moon, but also help us here on planet Earth.”

  Hansen is a fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He worked as “capcom” – the voice between the ground and the International Space Station – for many years at NASA’s Mission Control Center. He is the first Canadian to have led a NASA astronaut class. Artemis II is his first assignment as an astronaut, he will be serving as mission specialist on a four-person crew.

His mission could launch as soon as the morning of February 6, weather-permitting. The 10-day trip around the moon and back will be the first time humans have returned to Earth’s largest satellite since Apollo 17.

  The mission will launch from Florida on the SLS rocket and fly aboard the Orion spacecraft, testing all of its life-support, navigation, and other systems in deep space to make sure everything works properly in preparation for future missions. They will venture beyond the far side of the Moon before completing a lunar flyby. After travelling for nearly 10 days and more than 1 million kilometres, Orion will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.

  A “dress rehearsal” countdown and fuelling test is set for February 2. Hansen and his fellow astronauts are currently in quarantine while they wait for their launch window. The launch could happen on February 6 or later, with alternative launch windows in early March and again in early April if needed.

Hansen will be hosting a live question and answer call from space while on the mission. The video will be streamed and shared by the Canadian Space Agency, and questions will be selected from previous submissions by Canadians.

  In Victoria, the Dominion Astrophysics Observatory will be hosting a launch party to watch the rocket launch, live. Before the launch, on January 31 the observatory will be hosting a launch preview, where people can learn more about the Artemis II mission, its goals, and Hansen’s role.