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Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n
As the Artemis II makes its way towards the moon, it carries the Innu Nation flag along with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The crew successfully launched Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center<\/a> in Florida, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen has a very special item packed with his belongings on the shuttle.<\/p>\n An Innu Nation flag \u2014 a gift from the community \u2014 is now travelling through outer space.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hansen, along with other astronauts and researchers, travelled to Kamestastin in Northern Labrador in September 2023 for planetary science and lunar geology training.\u00a0<\/p>\n The site, a remote meteorite impact crater, according to the Canadian Space Agency, is the closest thing we have to the moon here on Earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a location of great cultural significance to the Innu Nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jodie Ashini is the cultural guardian for the Innu Nation. She said Hansen\u2019s visit to Labrador made an impact on the community, and on the astronaut as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a very, very important place to the Innu people. We wanted to ensure that every part of the work was done culturally sensitive,” Ashini told CBC News.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ashini said Hansen immersed himself in Innu culture during his trip.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNot only did he meet with the guardians, he went to the schools and in Natuashish as well as meeting with the kids here in Sheshatshiu after their trip,\u201d Ashini said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think he really understood how important the place was that he was traveling to and what it has meant to the Innu for the last 7,000 years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Mushuau Innu Guardians went with the team as they conducted their research, sharing their knowledge of the area, as well as its cultural significance.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey just offered so much knowledge and expertise in the area,\u201d Ashini said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was the other guys [the astronauts]\u00a0that really appreciated the Innu people,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n WATCH | The Kamestastin crater is the perfect place for astronauts to do geology training : How the Innu Nation helped train astronauts in a crater in northern Labrador<\/p>\n The Kamestastin crater is in the traditional hunting grounds of the Mushuau Innu First Nation in northern Labrador. Its unique landscape is similar to the moon, making it the perfect place for astronauts to do geology training.<\/p>\n \u201cI had some great exchanges with the Innu guardians that are here in the crater with us. It\u2019s been really special. We spent three nights with them, around the campfire, sharing dinner with them and hearing about their traditions, how they care for this land,\u201d Hansen said in a video<\/a> posted by the Canadian Space Association.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve even helped us with our exploration, telling us about where things that they\u2019ve seen in the crater are. So it\u2019s been super helpful, and really special to share in their culture a little bit, I\u2019m very grateful for that,\u201d Hansen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The community is ‘watching the skies’<\/p>\n And how did the flag end up with Hansen up in space? Ashini asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI kind of just as a joke asked him, ‘OK you can plant it on the moon now’? And he said ‘well, I got it packed and I’m going to bring it on the capsule,’\u201d Ashini said.<\/p>\n While the Innu Nation had an impact on Hansen, his visit made a mark on the community as well, especially on young people.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think I’m still holding my breath from yesterday’s launch. So it’s I don’t know if I’ll be able to properly sleep until they’re back on Earth. So we’re all, we’re all very much rooting for them and watching the skies,\u201d Ashini said.<\/p>\n She said it\u2019s \u201csurreal\u201d to have this piece of Innu nation connected with the mission.<\/p>\n While the community keeps a close eye on the crew\u2019s mission, it\u2019s not yet clear what might happen to the flag once it\u2019s back on Earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know. My first thought is that it’ll come home to Sheshatshiu and be put up in the cultural centre, maybe signed by them, \u201c Ashini said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ll see. We’ll see what I can talk them into,\u201d Ashini laughed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Download our\u00a0free CBC News app<\/a>\u00a0to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our\u00a0daily headlines newsletter here<\/a>. Click\u00a0here to visit our landing page<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[85,46,141,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-378320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-space"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Innu](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775501474_581_default.jpg\")
Jodie Ashini says Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen has packed the Innu Nation Flag with him on Artemis II. (Innu Nation\/Facebook)<\/p>\n![\"3](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775501474_542_default.jpg\")
Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen and Jenni Gibbons join youth at Mushuau Innu Natuashish School. (Submitted by the Canadian Space Agency)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775501475_751_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775501475_961_default.jpg\")
Jodie Ashini is the cultural guardian for the Innu Nation. (CBC )<\/p>\n