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Jeremy Hansen is assisted off the flight deck after arriving aboard USS John P. Murtha. Photo: NASA<\/p>\n
\n\tThe crew of Artemis II splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego on Friday, capping a nearly 10-day mission that marked a historic milestone for Canada\u2019s role in human spaceflight.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe crew of Artemis II splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego on Friday, capping a nearly 10-day mission that marked a historic milestone for Canada\u2019s role in human spaceflight.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\t\tCanadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, alongside NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, returned aboard the Orion spacecraft at 8:07 p.m. ET after completing a lunar flyby mission that travelled more than 1.1 million kilometres.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\tThe mission made Hansen the first Canadian to participate in a crewed lunar mission, a milestone officials said reflects decades of investment in Canada\u2019s space programme and its collaboration with NASA.<\/p>\n
\n\tJeremy Hansen is assisted off the flight deck after arriving aboard USS John P. Murtha. Photo: NASA<\/p>\n
\n\tDuring the mission, the crew orbited Earth, travelled to the Moon over four days, conducted a lunar flyby and returned to Earth at speeds reaching 35 times the speed of sound. They also carried out scientific activities and observed previously unseen regions of the Moon.<\/p>\n
\n\tOn the ground, Canadian astronaut Jenni Gibbons served as capsule communicator (CAPCOM), maintaining direct contact with the crew throughout the mission.<\/p>\n
\n\tOfficials said the dual role of Canadian astronauts in space and on the ground underscores the country\u2019s growing expertise in space exploration, particularly in robotics and mission operations.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\t\t“Artemis II has been an amazing, profound, and beautiful experience, but also very humbling,” said Hansen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\tThe mission is the first crewed flight of NASA\u2019s Artemis programme, which aims to return humans to the Moon and lay the groundwork for future missions to Mars.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Canadian Space Agency said Artemis II builds on Canada\u2019s long-standing contributions to international space missions, noting that the country has now sent 10 astronauts on 18 missions.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe successful return of the crew is seen as a key step toward upcoming Artemis missions, including planned lunar landings later this decade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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