With a fiery roar from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Canadian Jeremy Hansen was one of four astronauts that launched to the moon aboard the Artemis II on Wednesday.
Hansen broadcast a message just before liftoff: "We are going for all humanity."
He is joined by veteran NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch.
The 50-year-old from London, Ont., is serving as the mission specialist for Artemis II and will become the first non-American to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he congratulated U.S. President Donald Trump on the successful launch. In a post on social media, Carney said they "discussed the courage of the astronauts, including Col. Jeremy Hansen, the value of co-operation in space and developments in the Middle East conflict."
The 10-day lunar fly-around will see humanity travel to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years — farther from the Earth than ever before.
For the Hansen family, the mission 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 on Tuesday with a big 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.
Hansen sent his love to his family as he left crew quarters with his fellow astronauts earlier Wednesday in the final hours before the launch window.
Catherine Hansen wrapped her arms around her children as her husband, standing behind a barricade in his bright orange spacesuit, said, "I love you," and flashed a thumbs-up.
Ahead of the launch, she said the family would try to take in every single moment.
"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 said. "There will be excitement, there will be exhilaration, there will be terror and fear."
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.
Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet, commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, said she could not be more proud of the Canadian astronaut, who has spent 30 years in the service.
“It’s just a real pleasure to see his hard work pay off in this way,” she said Tuesday at the Kennedy Space Center.
Jeremy Hansen has been motivated by the support of Canadians, his wife said. He may be the one sitting on the rocket, she said, "but it is not just his dreams that are being realized."
To represent those shared aspirations, Jeremy Hansen took a personal mission patch with him into space.
It was created by Anishinaabe artist Henry Guimond. The shape of the patch and the animals it depicts are references to the traditional First Nations teachings of the Seven Sacred Laws, which was shared with the Canadian astronaut before his lunar journey.
A Canadian flag at the top of the patch recognizes all the people across the country who made the mission possible — a way of symbolically bringing the country along for the journey.
Other patch symbols acknowledge his service in the Royal Canadian Air Force, humanity and his family.
Catherine Hansen said it was incredible to watch her husband represent Canada on the mission 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
