Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen says he supports NASA’s decision to postpone a highly anticipated mission to the moon and return until September 2025, stating that such decisions require guts.
Hansen stated Monday that he and NASA crewmates Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch were relieved that officials had postponed the Artemis II lunar trip, which was initially scheduled for November. The delay, he noted, will give the team time to work out technical concerns with the Orion spacecraft, notably its heat shield, before the ship’s first crewed mission.
“Now that we have those extra 10 months, if we do find something else, we have more opportunity to make changes if we want to,” Hansen told reporters at the Canadian Space Agency offices south of Montreal.
“The mindset is we will find many things we want to change for the Artemis program; we won’t change them all for our mission, but we will identify them and many of them will be earmarked for changes in Artemis III and IV.”
Artemis II is a lunar flyby in which Orion will execute a figure-eight around the moon’s far side before returning to Earth. The vessel performed an unmanned voyage around the moon, Artemis I, in late 2022.
Hansen stated that he and his colleagues discuss the hazards of space flight on a regular basis, but he is convinced that NASA would implement all necessary mitigation measures before sending his crew into orbit.
“Every space mission has risks — launching and landing are of course the biggest risks,” Hansen told CBS News. “It’s the second time we’re flying this vehicle (Orion), the first time with humans, so it’s still a very new program, so there’s some elevated risks.”
Orion will pass through multiple orbital debris zones on its eight-day journey from Earth to the moon and back.
“Risks like hitting something in space, you can’t just do a quick U-turn and come back,” Hansen told CBS News. “So no matter what, we have to live with what we have, once we decide to leave Earth.”
The journey to the moon will act as a forerunner to Artemis III, which has been delayed until September 2026 and is intended to put the first woman and person of color on the moon. The expedition will be the first time astronauts have walked on the moon in over 50 years.
Hansen was at the CSA headquarters, where media were shown how the crew is preparing for the Artemis II mission. He was accompanied by Jenni Gibbons, who was selected Hansen’s backup in November and will be called into action if he is unable to make the voyage.
The demonstrations featured physical training sessions for astronauts in orbit, as well as illustrations of how medical aid is provided during deep space missions. Officials also reviewed the development of Canadarm3, a new robotic arm for NASA’s Gateway lunar base.
Some of the Canadian food that will accompany Hansen on the trip was also on exhibit, including shrimp curry with rice, maple cream cookies, wild keta salmon nibbles, and maple syrup.