The Artemis II crewed lunar mission lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, 2026.JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
NASA just launched four astronauts, including Canadian Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day flight around the moon, marking the most ambitious U.S. space mission in decades and a major step toward returning humans to the lunar surface.
For Canada, the voyage is especially momentous. Until now, no representative of any country besides the United States has ever travelled beyond low Earth orbit. Together with his American crewmates – commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch – Col. Hansen will spend 10 days aboard the capsule as it loops around the moon and back.
How Canada came to be part of Artemis II’s historic mission to the moon
The crew will test the capsule’s suitability for deep space operations and blaze a trail for subsequent Artemis missions. And while Artemis II will not land on the moon, it is the flight NASA needs to enable future exploration on the lunar surface for years to come.
What do you want to know about the mission, the launch, and what it hopes to accomplish? Submit your questions for Globe science reporter Ivan Semeniuk in the form below, or send us an e-mail at audience@globeandmail.com.
What do you want to know about the Artemis II launch? Submit your questions
This week, three Americans and one Canadian will embark on a trip around the moon before safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean just over nine days later. What do you want to know about the launch, its long preparation time and what they hope to accomplish? Leave your question in the form below, or send an e-mail to audience@globeandmail.com.