Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen speaks to UBC students about 2025 space mission

In just under two years, the Artemis II mission will depart for the moon and on board will be Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. He will be the first Canadian to travel to the moon, but before his 2025 departure, he spoke to UBC students Wednesday about his journey.

Hansen has been training for the mission for over 10 years, after earning degrees in space science and physics, and working as a fighter pilot and aquanaut.

He is one of four crewmembers on the mission, which will send astronauts to the moon no later than September of 2025.

Charlotte Hook was one of dozens in the audience, moderating the panel, as a junior fellow with the Outer Space Institute and a master's student at UBC.

Although she does not wish to travel to the moon herself, she has been spending time researching and learning about Hansen’s efforts

"The training sounds very physically and mentally arduous and it's because of what they are going to do when they fly to the moon and I mean he's started training for this in 2009 when he got selected and so it's been almost 10 years since then,” says Hook.

Hansen has wanted to be an astronaut since he was little, turning his treehouse into a spaceship, but the journey has not always been easy.

“You will have moments, where you will feel like all is lost. I am not there yet, you never know. I will believe I am going to the moon when I leave the Earth orbit, I will know that I'm pretty much going one way or another,” explains Hansen.

The webinar was held by the Outer Space Institute and the UBC Department of Physics and Astronomy.

The goal was to encourage students to learn and research space while knowing that travelling to the moon is possible for them too.

Andrew Falle is a research coordinator with the Outer Space Institute and one of the main organizers of the webinar.

“This is a major step to actually have more of humanity be represented in going to another body in the solar system. We see the moon every night, we have a connection to the moon but very few people actually get the chance to travel there,” says Falle.

For Hansen, it is important to share his experience and encourage students to set goals for themselves.

His main advice is to “follow a passion academically, put yourself in situations where you are challenged, be a good team player, have empathy, and have fitness as part of your lifestyle.”