Le premier astronaute canadien à participer à une mission lunaire sera Jeremy Hansen.
Âgé de 47 ans, l’Ontarien est pilote de chasse et a une maîtrise en physique. Il est astronaute depuis 2009, mais n’a jamais été dans l’espace.
La mission Artemis II est prévue pour 2024 ou 2025. D’une durée de 10 jours, elle restera en orbite autour de la Lune. L’alunissage du programme Artemis est prévu à la troisième mission, pas avant 2025. Aucun Canadien ne participera à la mission Artemis III. Trois astronautes américains y participent également, notamment une femme.
The Artemis II crew unveiling ceremony takes place in Houston on Monday morning at 11 a.m. A retransmission with comments by the President of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Lisa Campbell, takes place at the same time at CSA headquarters in Saint-Hubert. Marc Garneau, first Canadian to travel in space, in 1984 in the space shuttle Challengeris also in Saint-Hubert.
“I remember very well the day, the 1er March 1984, when we assembled the astronauts who would be on the mission,” said Mr. Garneau, who is a former CSA executive. “I was nervous. I realized that I would make a dream come true. For 40 years I’ve been told: you’re the guy who went to the moon. But I haven’t been to the moon. It will change the person. Orbiting the Moon is unique. This person will see the whole Earth. From the space station or the shuttle, we only see part of the Earth. »
In early February, CNN reported a rumor that the chosen Canadian astronaut would be Jeremy Hansen.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Lisa Campbell, President of the Canadian Space Agency, and former minister and astronaut Marc Garneau applaud the selection of Jeremy Hansen.
Prior to the announcement in Houston, all serving Canadian and American astronauts paraded onto the stage. When the Canadian astronauts made their appearance, applause rang out in the CSA room where the ceremony was taking place, especially for David Saint-Jacques. Astronauts from the Apollo program were in the audience in Houston.
François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Industry, said before the unveiling of the crew that “Canada and the United States can do great things because we do them together”. He addressed the audience in English, apart from a “hello everyone” at the beginning of his speech and a “thank you everyone” at the end.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, for his part, has indicated that the ultimate goal is a Mars mission. “We choose to go back to the Moon and then go to Mars. »
The Artemis I mission, which took place late last year and lasted 25 days, was unmanned. It made it possible to test all the systems in lunar orbit. Artemis I was scheduled to take off in August, but suffered several postponements due to fuel leaks and then Florida’s fall weather.
David Saint-Jacques is the only serving Canadian astronaut who has been in space.
The other two serving Canadian astronauts are Jenni Sidey-Gibbons, 34, a mechanical engineer, and Joshua Kutryk, 41, a fighter and test pilot.