Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen is going around the moon on Artemis 2 and Rachel Ward-Maxwell, who studies space for a living, is nervous. The astronauts are not. They have spent years preparing for this, they understand what they are flying into, and at this point they are simply ready to go. That gap tells you everything about what this mission means.

The mission is 10 days. They fly around Earth twice, head to the moon on a figure eight path, slingshot around the far side, and come back to Earth traveling faster than any human ever has. They will pass further from Earth than any crew since Apollo 13 was forced to abort and return home. That record has held for more than 50 years. Artemis 2 will surpass it.

This is a test flight. Life support, manual controls, trajectory. They are photographing the south pole of the moon to find a landing spot for what comes next. There is wifi. There are maple leaf cookies. Jeremy Hansen will downlink with Canada three times during the mission. It has taken decades to get here and they are ready.

Topics: Canadian astronaut moon mission, Artemis 2 launch, Jeremy Hansen moon, furthest humans traveled, Apollo 13 distance record

GUEST: Rachel Ward-Maxwell | http://ontariosciencecentre.ca

Originally aired on2026-04-01