Jeremy Hansen is done being an active astronaut. At least, the flight portion. The first non-American to go around the Moon will step away from active duty in September.
It isn’t a retirement.
He’s becoming a reservist. He wants to stay involved in the Canadian space scene, calling the work “vital” for the country. Space sovereignty is a hot button right now. Canada is throwing money at Nova Scotia to build a spaceport, trying to keep control of its own launches. Hansen watched a test launch last month. He sees the bigger picture.
“Our future depends on a fierce continuation of Australian innovation and exploration in space.”
He’s been busy. Not just flying. The Artemis 2 crew has been everywhere. The White House. Congressional committees. State of the Union. Independence Day parades. Canada Day celebrations. Diplomacy, essentially.
And it worked.
Hansen is 50. He’s been flying since he was twelve. Started in air cadets. Became a fighter pilot. Flew CF-18s for the Royal Canadian Air Force. It’s a long road for a kid from Ontario.
The hard part was waiting.
Selected in 2009. Didn’t fly for fourteen years. Canada’s deal with NASA means only a tiny slice of ISS missions. You get a shot every five or six years if you’re lucky. Hansen missed out on Chris Hadfield’s mission. Missed Robert Thirsk’s. David Saint-Jacques flew. Hansen watched.
But he didn’t just sit there. He managed trainee schedules. Called himself a “den mother” for NASA’s 2017 class. If they didn’t train right? It was on him. “The buck stops with me.”
He also helped fix a dark matter experiment outside the station. Complex work. Years in the making.
Then the plan changed. Moon shots returned to focus. Artemis stuck.
Canada signed up. Early on. Promised a robotic arm for the Gateway station. Plans shifted to a base on the Moon. Contracts continue though. MDA is building Canadarm3. The commitment bought seats on the first crewed flights.
Hansen got Artemis 2.
It was expected. Josh Kutryk was still new. Jenni Gibbons was the backup. She even served as the voice link to the crew from the ground. Hansen didn’t brag. Said it wasn’t about him.
“It was so awesome to see the United States showcasing Canada… because we bring real value.”
Three years of prep. He worked with Indigenous communities for the mission patch. Did a vision quest. Brought that culture with him into space.
The flight lasted ten days.
They went farther than any human in history. Saw a solar eclipse. Watched meteors hit the surface. Took HD photos of the dirt. Talked to school kids.
And they laughed.
“Moon joy” they called it. When news came out about naming a crater for Reid Wiseman’s late wife, they hugged. On camera. Emotional.
Hansen is done with the cockpit now. But he isn’t disappearing.
He’s still there. Still pushing. The work changes shape but doesn’t stop. The next chapter is already being written. Just with fewer rockets involved. Maybe.
Who knows? The industry is moving fast.
