Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen is set to fly around the moon as the mission specialist aboard Artemis 2 in November 2024. Joining him on the mission will be three NASA astronauts. Hansen’s career experience includes piloting fighter jets for NORAD, mentoring an astronaut class, and working in the top echelons of Canadian space policy. He will be the first non-American to leave low Earth orbit, as all other astronauts who ventured to the moon were Americans during the Apollo program. Hansen was recruited to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) after the 2008-09 recruitment campaign that selected two astronauts among 5,350 applicants. His ground responsibilities included mentoring an astronaut class and working in space policy. The Canadarm3 funded the seat for Artemis 2, and in exchange, Canada would receive seats on Artemis 2 and a Gateway mission.
