Good God, why did he accept a mission from which he might never return?
That’s the question Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen is asking as he continues training for the Artemis II mission that will take him around the moon.
Mr. Hansen says he finds his answer in the footsteps of those who came before him and allowed Canada to have its place in lunar exploration.
The astronaut is a pioneer himself, as he becomes the first Canadian to view the lunar surface so closely.
Artemis II, organized by NASA, is the first lunar mission since 1972.
“We need to go back to the decisions made in the 1960s in Canada, when people understood that space could help improve life on our planet,” Hansen said during an interview with The Canadian Press.
Canada will be only the second country to send one of its astronauts this far into space.
Mr. Hansen, a big fan of sci-fi stories, repeats it twice.
“How did we get to this point?” Credit goes to the visionaries. That happened. That’s what we’ve accomplished for decades to get to where we are. »
Mr Hansen will accompany three other US astronauts when the Artemis II mission lifts off in September 2025.
Reid Wiseman among them. The Canadian has known him since 2009 because they went through the same training at NASA. The other two are Victor Glover and Christina Hammock Koch.
“I feel like I’ve known this group for a long time. We went through the early stages of a relationship,” says Mr Hansen.
The Canadian Space Agency and NASA have been working together since 1982. However, there is still no guarantee that Canada will maintain its privileged position much longer.
“If Canada wants to remain an important partner, it will have to continue to make very visionary and very strategic investments,” emphasizes Mr. Hansen. We must be inspired and remember that we have achieved extraordinary things. We must not denigrate ourselves. »
It hasn’t always been easy for Canadian astronauts to establish themselves among their American counterparts, agrees Mr. Hansen, who describes himself as “very integrated.”
The astronaut says he stands on the shoulders of giants like Marc Garneau, the first Canadian to be in space.
“Thanks to them, we have a good reputation. When I arrived, I think all our problems from our youth are behind us,” he says.
Creating a culture where communication plays a vital role, he says, is the main challenge the Artemis II crew will face.
We even have to find time to talk about failure, happiness, and the death that may be waiting on the dark side of the moon.
Astronauts must conduct complicated conversations to minimize the risk of losing a crew member, but “recognize that zero risk is unattainable.”
This month, Mr. Hansen says, the astronauts underwent stressful training in the waves of the Pacific Ocean.
The goal was to stimulate the return of their capsule to Earth.
“I think I’ll realize I’m going to the moon a few days before liftoff, when I say goodbye to my family, when I’m sure I’ve got everything in order,” he says. Sometimes I will feel fear. »