Canadian Astronaut's Moon Flyby: A New Era

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen beamed in from over 200,000 kilometers away aboard the Orion spacecraft,

chatting live with folks back, home during the Artemis II mission.

This is the first crewed flight beyond low-earth orbit in more than 50 years,

looping around the moon without landing to test deep space systems.

Hansen, flying with three NASA crewmates, shared his pride in Canada

and hyped what's next if they nail a moon flyby in 2026.

The crew launched Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center, tested systems in orbit,

then hit a massive trans lunar burn Thursday night to head moonward.

By Friday's Q&A, they were closer to the moon than Earth,

with pilot Victor Glover noting how tiny our planet looks and how the moon's growing big in the windows.

Hansen described Earth shrinking fast, almost like they crashed into it before slinging around.

Over a hundred people packed the Canadian Space Agency spot in Longwill just after 1 a.m.,

including family, engineers, and reporters, all glued to.

The delayed video feed, Hansen popped up floating with Commander Reed Wiseman and pilot Glover,

might drifting free in zero gene.

He felt like a kid on the rocket ride and called, the whole vibe too much to unpack.

Minor hiccups hit early like a comms glitch and toilet fault, but teams fixed them quick.

Lighter side, Hansen's crew found his maple cookie stash right away, though no syrup yet.

They packed room temp foods and exercise in there, many van size home to fight microgravity weakness.

He stressed big dreams need big teams and sharing them.

This international collab shines bright, with Hansen proving what Canada gains from science investments and partnerships.

Humanities pushing boundaries again, setting up lunar landings ahead, and Hansen's words,

remind us, together, were capable of the extraordinary.

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