Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will be Artemis II’s mission specialist. Its participation was revealed this Monday (3) by NASA and the Canadian space agency (CSA), in an event that announced the names of the four members of this lunar journey.
In addition to Hansen, the crew is composed of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, NASA astronauts.
The Canadian joins the Artemis Program through an agreement closed between the United States and Canada, becoming the first astronaut from outside the United States to leave Earth orbit and fly to the Moon. All this should happen at the end of 2024.
In addition to being part of the Artemis Program crew, Canada also contributes with the Canadarm3 robotic arm, which will be installed at the Gateway station, which will be in orbit around the Moon.
Who is astronaut Jeremy Hansen?
Born in Ontario, Canada, Hansen holds a Bachelor of Science in Space Science from the Royal Military College and a Master of Science in Physics. At age 17, he received his private pilot’s license and wing insignia, which led him to join the Royal Military College in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, in the province of Quebec.
Between 2004 and 2009, he served as a CF-18 fighter pilot and was a Combat Operations Officer, overseeing exercise deployment and flight operations in the Arctic. Already a colonel in 2009, Hansen and another candidate were selected by the Canadian space agency’s recruitment drive.
He finished astronaut training in 2011 and started working as a “capcom”, being responsible for communication between the mission control center on the ground and the International Space Station. In 2017, Hansen became the first Canadian qualified to lead a class of NASA astronauts, being responsible for candidates from Canada and the United States in the US space agency’s astronaut training program.
At Artemis II, he will serve as a mission specialist.
Source: CSA
