Which Canadian Space Agency astronaut is part of the Artemis II crew alongside three NASA astronauts?

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen is indeed a mission specialist on the historic Artemis II mission, making him the first Canadian to travel around the Moon. This groundbreaking flight will also mark the first time a non-American has ventured beyond low Earth orbit. He joins NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch on this pioneering journey.

Artemis II is a crucial step in NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a long-term human presence on and around the Moon and ultimately prepare for human missions to Mars. The mission is designed as the first crewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, verifying the spacecraft's life support systems, navigation, and communication capabilities with humans on board. The roughly 10-day mission will send the crew on a free-return trajectory around the Moon and back to Earth, venturing thousands of miles beyond the Moon.

Canada's inclusion in this monumental mission stems from its significant contributions to the Artemis program. Canada was the first international partner to commit to the U.S. Artemis program and has specifically agreed to provide Canadarm3, a next-generation robotic arm, for the Lunar Gateway. This lunar-orbiting outpost will be vital for sustainable lunar exploration and will serve as a staging point for future missions to the lunar surface and potentially Mars. In exchange for its contributions, Canada secured two astronaut flights to the Moon, with Jeremy Hansen's Artemis II flight being the first. Hansen, a former fighter pilot and a CSA astronaut since 2009, brings extensive experience to the mission, having previously led a NASA astronaut class and participated in various simulated space environments.