WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT TO WISCONSIN: A Canadian astronaut has been chosen for a future NASA flight; Wisconsin companies offering products or services to the aerospace sector may find opportunities in Canada.
A Canadian astronaut is headed to the moon—or, at least, close to it.
Jeremy Hansen will be part of the team on Artemis II, part of a long-term mission that will eventually establish a presence on the moon and pave the way for human exploration of Mars.
It will be the first time in more than 50 years that humans will visit the moon, and Hansen will be the first Canadian to reach deep space.
Hansen will serve as a mission specialist along with NASA astronauts Christina Hammock Koch, also a mission specialist; Victor J. Glover Jr., pilot; and Reid Wiseman, commander. The mission is expected to launch in November 2024 at the earliest.
The mission will last for about 10 days, and it will orbit the moon, traveling more than 1 million kilometers (621,000 miles). The Artemis II crew members will live and work on the Orion spacecraft where they will test the performance of Orion’s life support systems for future missions.
Canada is also involved in another program aimed at exploring the moon. A Canadian rover is being developed that would search for preserved frozen water on the moon’s southern polar region. If the ice is discovered, it could lead to further exploration of the solar system, said Chris Herd, a scientific investigator on the mission and University of Alberta planetary geologist.
Herd told CBC/Radio Canada that the water could be used as a resource to help astronauts survive, or it could be split into hydrogen and oxygen for fuel, reducing the cost of bringing those supplies from Earth.
No date is set yet for the rover to launch.
Wisconsin aerospace companies could find opportunities to work with Canada’s sector as progress continues on these missions.
