Meet Jeremy Hansen, the first Canadian to head to the Moon

Jeremy Hansen, 47, will be one of four astronauts on NASA's Artemis II lunar mission and Canada's first to venture into deep space.

The Johnson Space Center in Houston was buzzing with excitement Monday as NASA prepared to showcase the four astronauts chosen to take the most distant journey of their lives — to the moon.

Image Jeremy Hansen will become the first Canadian to fly to the moon.Credit...Go Nakamura/Reuters

In 2024, these astronauts will venture into deep space on a 10-day mission days called Artemis II. My colleague Kenneth Chang, science journalist, traveled to Houston to cover the announcement.

[Read:< /em> NASA appoints various astronaut crews for Artemis II Moon mission]

I watched a live broadcast from Toronto, while I waited to find out who among the four eligible Canadian astronauts would occupy the only seat the Canadian Space Agency had obtained aboard the voyage in exchange for delivering a next-generation robotic system at NASA.

Jeremy Hansen, a 47-year-old man who served as a fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force, has been appointed as a mission specialist for Artemis II. He spoke to me earlier this week.