Tag Archives: Artemis Program

Last week, much of the fanfare surrounding Artemis 2 focused on Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen – and rightly so, as Hansen is a highly qualified individual well-deserving of this special mission seat. This page is for subscribers only. Already a subscriber? Log in. Fact-driven space news, columns, business, policy, technology and more. Support independent journalism. SUBSCRIBE TODAY

Jeremy Hansen’s patience has paid off. After nearly 14 years as a Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut accumulating skills including managing teams like the 2017 astronaut class’ trainers, he will be aboard the Artemis 2 mission that is returning humans to the Moon’s area in November 2024 or so.

Artemis 2 will fly the next Canadian into space in November 2024, boosting someone from our country to the Moon for the very first time.

The last time SpaceQ caught up with David Saint-Jacques in March 2022 — the only flown astronaut on the Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) four-person active roster — he was using his training as a medical doctor to aid with COVID-19 care in Montreal, in addition to his CSA/NASA duties.

As the longest serving astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency  — he was selected in May 2009  — former CF-18 fighter pilot Col. Jeremy Hansen has fulfilled many duties in support of the CSA and NASA. 

Canadian space delivered a lot of high-profile missions this year, from low Earth orbit all the way to the Moon and even a Lagrange Point. Despite a decline in spending, the Canadian Space Agency financed Moon and Earth observation plans – and the Canadian military opened its own Space Force.

With the Artemis I Orion capsule safely returning to Earth yesterday, Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center said in a media briefing that the announcement of which astronauts will participate in the Artemis II mission will be in early 2023. That announcement will include a Canadian.

Almost 50 years to the day, it was December 7, 1972, that NASA’s Apollo 17 mission launched on the last human mission to the Moon, NASA and its international partners, launched for the first time the rocket that will take humans back to the Moon.

NASA really wants to launch the Artemis I mission this month, but won’t rush repairs. Getting the Artemis Program on track is critical however.

NASA’s first attempt to launch the Space Launch System (SLS) for the Artemis I mission was scrubbed today by the launch director at approximately 8:34 a.m. EDT.