WARMINGTON: Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen hopes to inspire

· Toronto Sun

When he was a kid, Jeremy Hansen dreamed of going to space.

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Now he is doing it.

And the 50-year-old from London, Ont., who started flying as an air cadet, is hoping there are Canadian kids out there inspired to pursue space exploration just as he was when the first Canuck, Marc Garneau, blasted to the stars more than 40 years ago.

There certainly will be no shortage of kids in schools from coast to coast following his 10-day mission to the moon and beyond aboard the Artemis II. All eyes will be on Hansen and his crewmates Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch beginning Wednesday.

In a very good interview with John Moore of Newstalk 1010, Hansen said part of the reason he was able to travel that path to take him up in Artemis II for the first NASA lunar mission in more than half a century is because of the Canadian space program that has seen nine Canadians go into space since Garneau first did in 1984.

He went two more times. Chris Hadfield also left Earth three times and commanded the International Space Station.

Former Gov. Gen. Julie Payette and chief astronaut at the Canadian Space Agency, Steve MacLean, Robert Thirsk and Dr. Dave Williams all went up twice. Dr. Roberta Bondar was the first Canadian woman and neurologist to go into orbit; while David Saint-Jacques holds the record for being the Canadian who spent the most time in space — 204 days.

Hansen set to be Canada’s 10th space traveller

One of Canada’s original six astronauts, Bjarni Tryggvason, also went to space for 12 days in 1997. Over 17 missions, nine Canadians have been up amongst the stars.

While entertainers William Shatner and Guy Laliberté went up in to light-orbit as space tourists, Hansen is scheduled to be the 10th from the Canadian Space Agency.

“This will be my first trip. I am pretty excited about it,” he told Moore. ““I grew up wanting to go there. I saw a picture when I was about five years old of Neil Armstrong on the moon — it was like a switch for me. I can see the (encyclopedia) page burned in my brain. I changed my treehouse into a spaceship.”

On Wednesday, he will be in a real spaceship. And seeing things few other Canadians have. As exciting as it is for Col. Hansen to be heading into space, thanks to today’s technology you don’t have to travel quite as far a distance to see what he will see. In fact, all you have to do is get to the vicinity of the Square One shopping centre in Mississauga, where a new experience called Space Explorers: THE INFINITE is capturing the imaginations of the young and old alike, much like Hansen did when he turned his treehouse into a rocket.

“As NASA prepares for its first crewed return to the moon in more than 50 years, a new era of space exploration is definitely unfolding, fueling our desire to see Earth from beyond,” spokesperson Sandy Caetano said. “Canadians can feel as though they’re alongside the Artemis II crew during Space Explorers: THE INFINITE, a groundbreaking immersive experience created in collaboration with NASA — so realistic it has moved astronauts to tears.”

You can go to space in Mississauga

Saying it’s “based on the Primetime Emmy Award-winning series Space Explorers: The ISS Experience ,” Caetano told me it was shot with 3D cameras “over multiple missions aboard the International Space Station using custom-built 360-degree cinematic cameras that allows Canadians to walk among astronauts, float through the International Space Station, and witness Earth from breathtaking perspectives.”

It sounds so awesome.

“It’s a 45-minute, free-roaming journey that places you in orbit, and has a profound impact that stays with you long after it ends,” Caetano said. “It’s the closest most of us will ever get to space, and the timing with the Artemis II launch is ideal as all eyes are on deep space.”

They have already been experiencing long lineups to get in and now with there’s an extended run to the summer, with the enthusiasm of this mission. They are expecting to be busy. Of course, Hansen will be experiencing this whole thing with his own eyes and plans to share it with Canada and the world.

Just before he went to sleep early Wednesday morning to get prepared for the launch, he posted to X a message where once again he talked of his pride to be Canadian.

“Canada I am thinking of you and I am hoping all of you see all of your greatness reflected in this journey around the moon. I am so proud of all you,” Hansen said.

Canada is very proud of this kid from London who had large dreams and is about to achieve them.

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