Ontario astronaut is about to blast off to the moon and make Canadian history

Ontario astronaut Jeremy Hansen is ready to boldly go where no Canadian has gone before: to the Moon.

NASA is aiming to launch its long-awaited Artemis II moon mission on April 1 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 10-day journey around the Moon will mark the first time astronauts have ventured that far from Earth since the Apollo 17 lunar mission, over 50 years ago.

Fifty-year-old Hansen, of London, Ont., will serve as the mission specialist, becoming the first non-American to travel beyond low Earth orbit. He will be joined by American astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch.

Check out images the #Artemis II crew with SLS and Orion at Launch Complex 39B as well as other images as final preparations for launch continue at @NASAKennedy 📷: https://t.co/0AEy2WWeQo pic.twitter.com/bw93jSJ6gu

— NASA HQ PHOTO (@nasahqphoto) March 31, 2026

Hansen's passion for space began at just five years old, when he told his grandparents he wanted to be an astronaut, according to CTV News. By age 12, he joined the 614 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron in London, Ont. and by 17, he earned his private pilot licence and wings in Cornwall, Ont., his Canadian Space Agency (CSA) bio reads.

A former fighter pilot, Hansen joined the CSA in 2009 and has been training for this historic mission ever since.

Hansen's dedication and leadership did not go unnoticed. In 2017, NASA selected Hansen as the first Canadian to lead a NASA astronaut class, where he guided the next generation of space explorers.

He was officially assigned to Artemis II in 2023, bringing decades of experience to Canada's first crewed lunar flight in more than half a century.

It will take about eight minutes to reach orbit, and each day will be busy with tasks and activities, Hansen explains in a CSA video. 

The crew will spend the first day checking systems and running through dozens of critical procedures. Should Hansen find himself in a tricky situation — like fellow Canadian Ryan Gosling's character in Project Hail Mary — he says the team is prepared.

"We train for the unexpected and make sure we have a good plan to manage all of the potential system failures or systems that just don't perform how we thought they were going to." If they're not "100 per cent confident" that they can survive the full term in the spacecraft, Hansen says they will return home.

In the unlikely event that Hansen is unable to fly in April, 37-year-old Jenni Gibbons, of Calgary, will take his place.