As Jeremy Hansen prepares to begin a historic mission to the moon aboard the Artemis II, his wife says his family will be trying to take in every single moment.
If everything goes as planned, Catherine Hansen will be on the roof of the launch control centre at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Wednesday evening to watch her husband begin a 10-day lunar fly-around.
"I'm really trying to encourage everyone — and very, very specifically myself — to be in that moment and to allow whatever emotions may come," she told The Canadian Press on Tuesday. "There will be excitement, there will be exhilaration, there will be terror and fear."
Jeremy Hansen, 50, of London, Ont., will serve as the mission specialist for Artemis II and become the first non-American to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
He will be joined by veteran NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch.
The world will be watching this mission, which will send humans back to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. For the Hansen family it marks the culmination of 16 years of preparation and the fulfilment of a lifetime dream.
Catherine Hansen, an accomplished obstetrician-gynecologist, met her husband in Moose Jaw, Sask., when she went to watch her brother get his Air Force pilot wings. Jeremy Hansen told her right away he planned to be an astronaut.
She said she initially thought it was "a crazy thing to say out loud," but after a little contemplation decided that "if he's saying it out loud, he must really mean it."
"And as I got to know him, even over that day, weeks, months later, I realized he meant every word of it," she said with a wide smile. "And we were going to do everything we could to make it happen."
Jeremy Hansen was a fighter pilot when he became one of two recruits selected by the Canadian Space Agency in 2009. Catherine Hansen said they had a look at their lives together, what they wanted and how they could both accomplish it.
"I cannot really explain to people how important it is to just lift each other up, and that's exactly what we've done," she said. "He's done that with my work and my business. I've done that with him and his work."
They’ve now been married 23 years — most of which they’ve spent connected to NASA.
To watch her husband live out his childhood dream “feels like no less than a miracle,” she said.
She said their family couldn't have done it without the help of extended family and friends, the Canadian military, the space agency and other government supports.
The Hansen family has spent the days before the mission enjoying time together when they can. It will be incredible to watch her husband represent Canada on the mission, Catherine Hansen said, but she's also excited for him to share the experience with Canadians after.
"He's also, believe it or not, really looking forward to having the opportunity to share something that very few, if any, humans have ever experienced," she said.
"He really has the heart for wanting people to go on this ride with him."
Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Chris O'Meara
