From Yellowknife to the moon. This week, students in the NWT’s North Slave region are getting to meet a real-life astronaut.
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen is set to speak to youth at schools in Dettah, Ndılǫ, Łútsël K’é and Yellowknife this week.
Hansen will also appear at a free public event at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre on Thursday at 6pm. Seats will be limited.
Hansen is set to become the first Canadian astronaut to take part in a lunar mission. He is one of four crew members on the Artemis II mission scheduled to orbit the moon in 2026, his first assignment as an astronaut.
In 2017, Hansen became the first Canadian to lead a Nasa astronaut class.
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Born in London, Ontario, Hansen is a fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force and worked as the capsule communicator – or capcom, the voice between the ground and the International Space Station – at Nasa’s Mission Control Center.
Hansen’s visit to the NWT was organized by Bear Clan Strategy Inc, a northern consulting firm, and the Canadian Space Agency.
Hansen previously spoke with students in Yellowknife, Beaufort Delta and Sahtu communities via Zoom call in 2021 through the Junior Astronauts campaign.
