Following their public appearances in Ottawa, the Artemis II crew rounded out their media tour this week with two visits in the Montréal area.
The first, on Thursday morning, took place for several hundred employees at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) in Longueuil, just outside Montréal. The second, on Friday morning, was open to 3,000 members of the public (for a $110 ticket price), taking place at Place des Arts.
Each event had its own feel.
Patience pays off for CSA employees
Walking up to CSA headquarters, you’ll see a trio of flagpoles. Usually, a Canadian flag sits in the middle, flanked by two CSA logo flags. On Thursday morning, one of the CSA flags was replaced with an American flag.
Walking into the headquarters circular entrance, media and representatives packed the ground floor. CSA employees crowded each of the three levels and stairways waiting for the crew to arrive. For many of those employees, seeing the Artemis II crew at the agency was a long time coming.
On April 20th, 2023, the Artemis II crew visited the Canadian Space Agency, just weeks after being announced as crew. But in a cruel twist for CSA employees, they couldn’t see them.
Between April 19 and May 3, 2023 Canadian federal workers went on strike. Federal union rules required employees to attend a picket line and not enter federal buildings.
CSA headquarters weren’t empty, however: contract workers and non-federal employees packed the building and gave the crew a warm welcome.
But for three years, CSA employees had to wait to greet the crew themselves. On Thursday, they finally got that chance.
Employees clapped and cheered loudly as the doors opened and Jeremy Hansen, Jenni Gibbons, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Rise (the mission mascot, held by Jeremy) entered the building.
Each crew member had a moment to thank those there. Then it was time for the fireside chat in the Marc Garneau conference centre.
The Fireside chat
Holding about 200 people, the conference centre event felt intimate. It was billed as a fireside chat, after all.
Moderated by Minister Mélanie Joly, questions ranged from how the astronauts were transformed, what the public should know about space exploration, and how the crew felt about Jeremy and how he performed in his first space mission.
“He was the vet that wasn’t a vet,” said Christina Koch. “Our rocket cut off and he was like, ‘Alright, I’m outta my seat. I’m gonna go to work!’”
Knowing their audience, the crew felt comfortable speaking in shorthands and not shying away from light technical jargon.
Employees weren’t the only ones in attendance; Air Cadets from Squadron 643 in Saint-Hubert were also able to ask questions. In his youth, Jeremy Hansen was a Cadet and attributes many of the skills learned there as critical to his becoming an astronaut.
Many of the questions were asked in French, but Christina, Victor, and Reid were presumably given English translations and didn’t shy from answering.
Translated from French, a young Air Cadet asked, “What skill did you learn when you were young that was most helpful?”
Victor Glover replied, “The thing I want to say, when I was your age, what I needed to hear, ’It’s going to be okay’. It’s going to be okay because you’re gonna work hard.”
Not shying away from the reality of armed service, Commander Reid Wiseman answered, “I want to take it from grand completely down to bathrooms.” He described his role as First Lieutenant in the Navy with a job to clean bathrooms and support his team. “I put a sign over my desk that I still have and it said, ‘Do not lose the scope. Your job is paper towels and soap.’”
Noting that they didn’t start their careers as astronauts in blue flight suits, Wiseman said, “You’ve got to start with a pebble.”
The Big Show
Friday morning’s event felt different. Unlike a medium-sized conference room, the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier holds almost 3,000 attendees. The stage was bigger, the production higher, and the venue packed.
The crowd was different, ranging from local business leaders, academics, and parents with their small children.
The lights went low, the emotional intro video was played, and the crew walked out onstage to a standing ovation.
While CSA employees might expect Jeremy Hansen and Jenni Gibbons to speak some French and withhold applause for doing so, this crowd cheered wildly when Jeremy’s first words were spoken in French.
But what might have gotten a bigger cheer? When Jenni opened with “Go Habs!”, a brief chant of “Olé, olé, olé!” erupted in the seats.
Questions and answers were less technical. Some questions were geared to inspiring the business community (this event was organized and moderated by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal).
But the excitement and happiness of the crowd was palpable. Talking to attendees afterwards, some said they cried during parts of the show.
The digital, online joy that was spread during the Artemis II mission in early April felt like it took physical form on this Friday morning in Montréal.