Canadian Astronaut Hansen Reflects on Artemis II Mission

HOUSTON, Texas — Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen described the awe-inspiring views from the Orion spacecraft as "pretty extraordinary" during the Artemis II mission, marking the first human voyage to the moon in more than 50 years. The four-member crew, including commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Hansen and Christina Koch, launched early this month, completed a 10-day lunar flyaround, and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean about a week ago.

Hansen, 50, from London, Ontario, shared his reflections Thursday at NASA's Johnson Space Center here, still processing the mission's enormity. Floating to the window shortly after liftoff, he first glimpsed the ocean's sweep, followed by Australia's dusty red expanse against the black void of space, with Earth's atmosphere glowing like a blue bubble. The crew ventured farther from Earth than any humans before them, traveling beyond low Earth orbit for the first time since the Apollo era.

The mission tested NASA's Orion capsule and systems for future lunar landings, part of the Artemis program's goal to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon and pave the way for Mars exploration. Unlike...