Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to speak with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen following the successful completion of the historic Artemis II lunar mission.
According to the Canadian Space Agency, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly will also participate in the call, marking a significant moment for Canada’s role in deep space exploration.
Earlier this week, Hansen and his three American crewmates completed a six-hour flyby of the Moon, travelling farther into space than any human mission to date and surpassing the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. The mission represents a major milestone in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and establish a sustained presence.
Carney praised Hansen’s role in the mission, noting that Artemis II places Canada among the few nations to have sent an astronaut on a lunar mission, calling it a testament to Hansen’s “exceptional skill.”
During the mission, the crew captured images and conducted geological observations of the lunar surface, contributing to preparations for future missions, including a planned landing near the Moon’s south pole within the next two years.
The Artemis II crew is expected to return to Earth with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Friday.
