A former London Ontario Air Cadet, Col. Jeremy Hansen will be the first Canadian astronaut to fly around the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis II mission. This historic crewed mission to the Moon will be the first since the end of the Apollo program 50 years ago.
The launch of Artemis II, expected to take place next year, will make Canada the second country to ever send an astronaut around the Moon. Artemis II will pave the way for the first sustainable human presence on the lunar surface.
Born in London and raised in Ailsa Craig in Middlesex County, Hansen started his career as a 12-year-old air cadet in London. By 16, he had earned his glider pilot wings. A year later he received his private pilot license. At age Hansen was accepted for Officer Training in the Canadian Armed Forces. He completed Basic Training in Chilliwack, B.C., and started his degree at Royal Military College Saint-Jean in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. In 2003 he completed training on the CF-18 Fighter, and for the next five years served as a CF-18 fighter pilot with 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron and 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron as well as the Combat Operations Officer at 4 Wing Operations where his responsibilities included effectiveness of NORAD Operations, Deployed Exercises and Arctic Flying Operations.
In 2009 Hansen became one of two recruits selected by the CSA through the third Canadian Astronaut Recruitment Campaign. He graduated from Astronaut Candidate Training and started working at the Mission Control Center as capcom — the voice between the ground and the International Space Station. He then became a trainer for Canadian and American astronauts. Jeremy Hansen tells his story in the following video.
“I’m excited to leverage my experience, training, and knowledge to take on this challenging mission on behalf of Canada. I’m humbled by the incredible contributions and hard work of so many Canadians that have made this opportunity a reality. I am proud and honoured to represent my country on this historic mission,” said Hansen.
Jeremy Hansen holds a bachelor of science in space science (first class honours) from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario (1999). He earned a master of science in physics from the same institution in 2000, with a research focus on Wide Field of View Satellite Tracking.
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