Ontario’s Jeremy Hansen, set to become the first non-American astronaut to travel beyond Earth’s lower orbit, fielded questions from curious students on Thursday as the countdown to his historic Artemis II mission reached the 100-day mark.
Speaking at the Canadian Space Agency headquarters in Longueuil, Quebec, the 49-year-old London native addressed Grade 5 and 6 students from St. Jude Elementary School, who asked him about his fears and expectations for the journey around the moon. Hansen admitted that the unknowns are daunting but said trust, preparation, and purpose help him face the risks.
“What helps me with that is that I have learned to trust myself and to trust others,” he told the students. “And I have no guarantee of the outcome: you can die in space just like you can die here on Earth, but what I do believe is that we have been very smart about our approach.”
The Artemis II mission is scheduled to launch as early as February 2026 and will last approximately 10 days, carrying Hansen and three NASA astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch — on a journey around the moon and back. It will be the first crewed mission of the Artemis program and the first lunar mission by astronauts since Apollo 17 in 1972. The crew has been training for over two years and will travel aboard the Orion spacecraft, which they’ve named “Integrity.”
Hansen emphasized that extensive plans, backup systems, and contingencies are in place to ensure the mission’s success, with the expected splashdown to take place in the Pacific Ocean. “If you’re taking risks in your life, they have to be for a good reason, and we think this risk is for a good reason,” Hansen said. “We think it’s pushing humanity forward and therefore we should take it.”
The Artemis II mission is seen as a critical stepping stone for future lunar exploration. Artemis III will aim to land astronauts on the moon’s South Pole, while Artemis IV will begin construction of the Gateway lunar space station, which will feature Canadarm 3 — a Canadian robotics contribution. Hansen highlighted how Canada’s technological innovations, like the original Canadarm, helped secure the country’s place in international space exploration.
Hansen also noted that 2025 marks 25 years of continuous human presence on the International Space Station, orbiting roughly 400 kilometres above Earth. He contrasted this with the immense logistical challenges of future lunar and Mars missions, which are hundreds to thousands of times farther away.
In a lighthearted moment, when asked what would happen if the crew forgot to load the food, Hansen laughed: “If we get to space and the food’s not loaded, that was a big oversight and we’re in big trouble.”
Hansen was joined by Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, who made her first visit to the Canadian Space Agency since taking on the portfolio. She emphasized Canada’s increased investment in space and defence over the next decade to address emerging global threats, climate change, pandemics, and natural disasters.