Physics and Space Science News and Events

Col Jeremy Hansen goes to the Moon aboard Artemis II

2026-04-02

Astronaut Col Jeremy Hansen, a graduate of RMC's Department of Physics and Space Science, is en route to the Moon aboard the Artemis II spacecraft.


Follow Col Hansen's epic journey:

Canadian Space Agency - Artemis II Mission

Canadian Space Agency - News and Events

NASA - Artemis II Mission

 

Col Hansen's official Mission patch:

This patch was created for CSA astronaut Colonel Jeremy Hansen in honour of his participation in the historic Artemis II mission to the Moon by Anishinaabe artist Henry Guimond of the Turtle Lodge.

More about Col Hansen's Mission patch.  (CSA)

 

Photos from the Artemis II mission to the Moon.

(Click any image to enlarge.  All images courtesy CSA / NASA)

  • Artemis II NASA astronauts (left to right) Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

  • NASA’s Artemis II mission lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1, 2026.
  • Artemis II mission specialist and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen peers out one of the Orion spacecraft's windows looking back at Earth ahead of the crew's lunar flyby on April 6, 2026.
  • The Moon and the Earth as seen from the Artemis II Orion vehicle, April 6, 2026.
  • Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon.
  • CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen is seen taking images through the Orion spacecraft window early in the Artemis II lunar flyby.
  • Final Flyby Preparations - (April 6, 2026) – Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen prepare for their journey around the far side of the Moon by configuring their camera equipment shortly before beginning their lunar flyby observations.
  • Photographer at Work - (April 6, 2026) - Astronaut Jeremy Hansen captures an image through the camera shroud covering window 2 of the Orion spacecraft.
  • (April 6, 2026) - The Artemis II crew - Mission Specialist Christina Koch (top left), Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (bottom left), Commander Reid Wiseman (bottom right), and Pilot Victor Glover (top right) - use eclipse viewers to protect their eyes at key moments during the solar eclipse they experienced during their lunar flyby.
  • Captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, this image shows the Moon fully eclipsing the Sun. From the crew’s perspective, the Moon appears large enough to completely block the Sun, creating nearly 54 minutes of totality and extending the view far beyond what is possible from Earth.
  • Poynting and Keeler Craters on the Lunar Far Side - (April 6, 2026) - Poynting crater and Keeler crater are visible side by side in the lower right portion of this image of the Moon’s far side highlands.
  • Lunar Flyby Observations - (April 6, 2026) - CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen pictured here in the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II lunar flyby.
  • Moon Joy - (April 7, 2026) - The Artemis II crew - (clockwise from left) Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover - take time out for a group hug inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home.
  • (April 7, 2026) - The Artemis II crew captured this breathtaking photo of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
  • (April 7, 2026) - NASA’s Orion spacecraft is pictured here. The picture was taken from one of the cameras mounted on its solar array wings. The Artemis II crew members were asleep at the time.
  • (April 7, 2026) - The Artemis II crew - (clockwise from left) Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover - pause for a group photo with their zero gravity indicator 'Rise,' inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home.
  • Splashdown! The Artemis II splashed down into the Pacific Ocean at 8:07p.m. EDT. NASA’s Artemis II mission took the crew, Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen, on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth.
  • NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, left, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist are seen sitting on a Navy helicopter on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they and fellow crewmates CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
  • NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, left, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, are seen sitting on a Navy helicopter on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they and fellow crewmates NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist, and NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
  • CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist is seen sitting in a Navy MH-60 Seahawk helicopter on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after he and fellow crewmates NASA Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

 

A previous article about Jeremy Hansen visiting RMC in 2016.

 

RMC Space Science graduate Col Jeremy Hansen will go to the Moon on Artemis II

2023-04-03

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and NASA have announced the crew of the Artemis II mission, the first group of astronauts to return to the moon since 1972.

RMC Physics and Space Science graduate, Jeremy Hansen will be a mission specialist!

He will become the first Canadian to journey to the Moon.

Colonel Jeremy Hansen

Col. Jeremy Hansen (Image credit: Canadian Space Agency)

Colonel Hansen began his his post-secondary education as an Officer Cadet at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, and completed his undergraduate degree at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario.

Col Hansen graduated with a bachelor's degree in honours space science (BScHons) from RMC in 1999.

He also earned a Master of Science (MSc) in physics from RMC in 2000, with a research focus on Wide Field of View Satellite Tracking.
 

Colonel Jeremy Hansen

Then LCol Jeremy Hansen in 2016, speaking in Historic Currie Hall at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), during an event marking the 25th Anniversary of the granting of space science degrees by RMC.  (Image credit: Bryce Bennett)

 

Statement by Dr. Ribal Georges Sabat, Vice-Principal Academic and Professor of Physics at RMC:

The Royal Military College of Canada is extremely proud of ex-cadet Col. Jeremy Hansen for being selected to be a mission specialist for the Artemis II NASA mission, currently scheduled to orbit the moon in November 2024

This will be the first lunar mission by NASA in 50 years and Col. Hansen is set to become the first Canadian in history to reach deep space.

Col. Hansen will also become the first Canadian to journey to the Moon. He obtained his Bachelor of Science from RMC in 1999, specializing in Honours Space Science. He also obtained a Master of Science in Physics froe RMC in 2000. His Master’s thesis was titled “Wide Field of View Satellite Tracking” and it was supervised by Dr. Erwin Batalla, now retired professor from the Department of Physics and Space Science at RMC.
 
RMC has a long history of training outstanding leaders for the Canadian Armed Forces, and subsequently for the Canadian society for over 147 years.

The sheer number of prominent and accomplished RMC ex-cadets in society today is quite remarkable considering the low number of overall students who attended RMC, when compared to other Canadian universities. This is testament to the quality of education provided by RMC which is based on a 4-pillar program that includes academics, military leadership, second language training and athletics.
 
The Department of Physics and Space Science is one of the oldest departments at the College. The Space Science program at RMC is one of the very few university programs in Canada that provides specialized training in space-related physics, including orbital mechanics, space mission design and analysis, as well as satellite tracking, remote sensing and communications. The Department of Physics and Space Science is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for satellite tracking and observation and our professors are world-renown researchers in the space science domain.
 
It is a great honour for RMC, and particularly the Department of Physics and Space Science, to have one of our graduates be selected for such an amazing historical event.

 

Col Joshua Kutryk, RMC Class of 2004, is currently an active astronaut, while Capt(N) (Ret) Marc Garneau, Class of 1970, and Col (Ret) Chris Hadfield, Class of 1982 are former astronauts.

 

More information about Colonel Hansen can be found at the Canadian Space Agency.

 

General information about the Department of Physics and Space Science at the Royal Military College of Canada can be found here.

More information about Graduate Studies in Space Science at the Royal Military College of Canada can be found here.

 

For more information about the Artemis program, visit the CSA's Artemis program webpages.

 

l'équipe Artemis II

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen (left) stands inside a model of the Orion spacecraft with his Artemis II crewmates: (left to right) NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Hammock Koch. (Credit: James Blair/NASA)

How lasers, waves and heat can lend a watchful look on a sleepy world

2025-11-12

The Department of Physics and Space Science is proud to invite you to our annual Physics for Defence lecture taking place in-person on Tuesday 18 November 2025 at 1100 in Currie Hall. This year's lecture will be given by Dr. Luc Levesque and it is titled “How lasers, waves and heat can lend a watchful look on a sleepy world.”

Pages