Jeremy Hansen is about to become the first Canadian to make a moon mission
Later today, the Artemis II will mark the farthest away from Earth human beings have ever travelled
For the first time in more than 50 years, astronauts are being sent on a moon mission, and for the first time ever, a Canadian will be among the crew.
This evening at 6:24 p.m. ET, the first launch window of the Artemis II will open from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, with spaceflight continuing for 10 days.
Related: The NASA mission carrying a Canadian to the moon won’t blast off as planned
Astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who is from London, will be the mission specialist on the Artemis II, making him the first Canadian to travel beyond Earth’s orbit and into deep space.
“I feel a great sense of pride for Canada because I have seen the greatness we have in the country and the contributions we are capable of making,” Hansen said last week from Cape Canaveral.
The crew is set to venture 8,000 kilometres past the moon, making it the farthest away from Earth ever travelled by human beings.
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
