Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts were toasted by Canada on Saturday as they prepared for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts.
The three Americans and one Canadian will reach their destination Monday, photographing the mysterious lunar far side as they zoom around. It’s the first moonbound crew in more than 53 years, picking up where NASA’s Apollo program left off.
Artemis II is poised to set a distance record for humans, traveling more than 252,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) from Earth before making a U-turn behind the moon and heading home without stopping or entering lunar orbit. The current record is held by Apollo 13.
The Canadian Space Agency celebrated the country’s role in the mission, featuring astronaut Jeremy Hansen in Quebec as he prepared for his lunar rendezvous. Hansen is the first non-U.S. citizen to fly to the moon.
“Today he is making history for Canada,” said Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell. “As we watch him taking this bold step into the unknown, let his journey remind us that Canada’s future is written by those who dare to reach for more.”
In a live televised link, Hansen expressed his excitement about witnessing “extraordinary” views from NASA’s Orion capsule.
Alongside Hansen, crew members Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch are making history as the first lunar astronauts since Apollo 17’s crew in 1972. Koch and Glover are also noted for being the first female and first Black astronauts to reach the moon, respectively.
Their nearly 10-day mission — culminating with a Pacific splashdown on April 10 — is the first step in NASA’s ambitious plans for establishing a sustainable moon base. The space agency is targeting a moon landing by two astronauts near the lunar south pole in 2028.
