Born on January 27th 1976, in London, Canada, Jeremy Hansen is an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency. Selected in 2009, he became part of NASA’s astronaut group 20. He is also a CF-18 fighter pilot, a Royal Canadian Air Force colonel. A while ago, on April 3rd, 2023, he was assigned to the Artemis II mission as a specialist.
At the young age of 12, he joined the 614 Royal Canadian Air Cadet squadron in London, Canada. Hansen attended the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, after graduating from Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute. There, he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in space science in 1999. A year later, he earned a Master of Science(MS) degree in physics from this college.
In 2013, He served as a cavenaut (which is the term used for the astronauts participating in the following mission) for the European Space Agency’s CAVES training program in Sardinia. Later, on June 10, 2014, it was announced that Hansen would take part as an aquanaut (an undersea astronaut) aboard the Aquarius Underwater Base in NASA’s NEEMO 19. The mission was a space simulation underwater, where it was aimed at testing technologies for Mars and asteroid exploration. It started on September 8 in the same year and lasted seven days. The cavenauts were trained to live and work together in an isolated environment to simulate the challenges of long-duration space missions, while following strict safety protocols, limited resources, and relying on teamwork.
As stated earlier, Hansen was assigned to the Artemis II mission, alongside Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch. The rocket launched on April 1st, 2026, and took 10 days to orbit the moon. After coming back via splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, he became the first non-American to travel beyond Earth orbit. He, along with the others on the Artemis II crew, is among the humans who have travelled the furthest from Earth.
This mission marks another significant step for humanity in our quest to explore our universe further, and it is something that brings national pride, especially for Canadians: Having Jeremy Hansen go to the moon makes history for Canada, mostly because it is the first time this has happened. This is also beneficial as it brings prestige to Canada, boosts the space economy, and strengthens Canada’s standing in international exploration.
