Why this week’s moon mission is so special for Jeremy Hansen

NASA is engaged in the final preparations for the much-anticipated Artemis II mission that will send astronauts toward the moon for the first time in more than five decades.

The space agency is targeting 6:24 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 1, for the launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The four crew members — NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, together with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — will travel aboard an Orion spacecraft launched by NASA’s formidable SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.

After a couple of days in low-Earth orbit checking the spacecraft’s systems, the crew will send the Orion on course for a rendezvous with our nearest neighbor. The 10-day voyage won’t touch down on the moon but instead fly around it before returning home.

The mission is of course super special for every single one of those crew members, but for Hansen it comes with added personal impact as the flight will mark his very first time in space.

While Wiseman, Glover, and Koch each flew to the International Space Station (ISS) on their first orbital experience, Hansen will be traveling several hundred thousand miles further from Earth for his debut space ride.

Hansen will also become the first non-American, and first Canadian, to travel to the moon, a historic achievement that will cement his place in history and make him a national hero.

“I just want Canadians to feel that pride,” Hansen told CBC when he was announced as one of the Artemis II crew members in 2023. “I just want Canadians to realize, hey, we are up to big things here in Canada and can accomplish the seemingly impossible if we believe in ourselves.”

Artemis II is also a groundbreaking mission for Glover and Koch, who are about to become the first Black person and the first woman to travel to the moon — major milestones in their own right.

With only days to go before the targeted launch date, the four crew members are now in quarantine, poring over the flight plan and making sure they’re all set for the mission of a lifetime.

Want to know more about the mission? Then watch NASA’s video showing exactly how it expects the flight to unfold.