Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen addresses nation ahead of Artemis II Mission

If all goes to plan, four astronauts will blast off on a mission that’s been a long time coming, a return to the moon. CTV London’s Lauren Stall

If all goes to plan, four astronauts will soon blast off on a mission that’s been a long time coming, a return to the moon.

London-born astronaut Jeremy Hansen addressed Canadians at NASA’s Artemis II Mission news conference in Houston Wednesday morning.

“Artemis II is about much more than just going back to the moon,” said Hansen. “It is about the pursuit of excellence.”

He said Canadians should be proud they are ‘represented’ in the Artemis program.

“It wasn’t a gift,” said Hansen, “you earned it.”

He said he is hopeful the mission will inspire not just Canadians but people around the world.

“You see this concrete example of what humanity can do,” said Hansen. “This extraordinary thing when we set big goals and we work together to achieve them.”

Hansen may be the first Canadian heading into deep space, but for now his focus is making sure everything goes according to plan.

“We have this great group of simulation trainers who come up with these sorts of evil tests for us,” explained Hansen. “We’ll be sitting in the sim, all of our controls are in mission control and then things will just start breaking.”

It is clear Hansen has made a big impression on his crewmates.

“He’s the creative one on the crew,” said Reid Wiseman, the Artemis II Commander. “There is nothing he doesn’t think about.”

The mission is set to take off early next year.