{"id":552128,"date":"2026-01-29T18:19:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T18:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/552128\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T18:19:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T18:19:13","slug":"the-first-human-mission-to-the-moon-in-54-years-launches-soon-with-a-canadian-on-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/552128\/","title":{"rendered":"The first human mission to the moon in 54 years launches soon \u2014 with a Canadian on board"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been 54 years since the last Apollo mission<\/a>, and since then, humans have not ventured beyond low-Earth orbit. But that\u2019s all about to change with next week\u2019s launch of the Artemis II<\/a> mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. <\/p>\n

This is the first crewed flight of NASA\u2019s Artemis program and the first time since 1972 that humans have ventured to the moon. Onboard is Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen<\/a>, who will be the first non-American to fly to the moon and will make Canada only the second country in the world to send an astronaut into deep space.<\/p>\n


\n Read more:
\n Canada’s space technology and innovations are a crucial contribution to the Artemis missions<\/a>
\n <\/strong><\/p>\n

I am a professor, an explorer and a planetary geologist. For the past 15 years, I have been helping to train Hansen and other astronauts in geology and planetary science. I am also a member of the Artemis III Science Team<\/a> and the principal investigator for Canada\u2019s first ever rover mission<\/a> to the moon.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft secured to the mobile launcher at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
\n (NASA)<\/a><\/p>\n

What will the mission achieve?<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Artemis program<\/a>, launched in 2017, has the ambitious goal to return humans to the moon and to establish a lunar base in preparation for sending humans to Mars. The first mission, Artemis I<\/a>, launched in late 2022. Following some delays<\/a>, Artemis II is scheduled for launch as early as a week from now.<\/p>\n

Onboard will be Hansen, along with his three American crew-mates. <\/p>\n

This is an incredibly exciting mission. Artemis II is the first time humans have launched on NASA\u2019s huge SLS (Space Launch System<\/a>) rocket, and the first time humans have flown in the Orion<\/a> spacecraft.<\/p>\n

SLS is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built, with the capability to send more than 27 metric tonnes of payload \u2014 equipment, instruments, scientific experiments and cargo \u2014 to the moon. The Orion spacecraft sits at the very top and is the crew\u2019s ride to the moon. The Artemis II crew named their Orion capsule Integrity<\/a>, a word they say embodies trust, respect, candour and humility.<\/p>\n

\"an<\/p>\n

An infographic produced by NASA showing the different parts of the Orion spacecraft.
\n (NASA)<\/a><\/p>\n

What will Artemis II crew do in space?<\/p>\n

Following launch, the crew will carry out tests of Integrity\u2019s essential life-support systems: the water dispenser, firefighting equipment, and, of course, the toilet. Did you know there was no toilet on the Apollo missions<\/a>? Instead, the crews used \u201crelief tubes.\u201d<\/p>\n

If everything looks good, the Artemis II will ignite what\u2019s known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage \u2014 part of the SLS rocket still connected to Integrity \u2014 to elevate the spacecraft\u2019s orbit. If things are still looking good, the Orion spacecraft and its four human travellers will spend 24 hours in a high-Earth orbit up to 70,000 kilometres away from the planet.<\/p>\n

For comparison, the International Space Station<\/a> orbits the Earth at a mere 400 kilometres.<\/p>\n

Following a series of tests and checks, the crew will conduct one of the most critical stages of the mission: the Trans-Lunar Injection<\/a>, or TLI. This is the crucial moment that changes a spacecraft from orbiting the Earth \u2014 where the option to quickly return home remains \u2014 to sending it on its way to the moon and into deep space.<\/p>\n

\"an<\/p>\n

The Artemis II mission\u2019s 10-day \u2018figure-eight\u2019 trajectory.
\n (NASA)<\/a><\/p>\n

Once the Integrity is on its way to the moon after TLI, there is no turning back \u2014 at least, not without going to the moon first. That\u2019s because Artemis II \u2014 like the early Apollo missions \u2014 enters what\u2019s called a \u201cfree-return trajectory\u201d<\/a> after the TLI. What this means is that even if Integrity\u2019s engines fail completely, the moon\u2019s gravity will naturally loop the spacecraft around it and aim it towards Earth.<\/p>\n

After the three-day journey to the moon, the crew will carry out perhaps the most exciting stage of the mission: lunar fly-by. Integrity will loop around the far side of the moon, passing anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 kilometres above its surface \u2014 much farther than any Apollo mission. <\/p>\n

To quote Star Trek, at that most distant point, the Artemis II crew will have boldly gone where no (hu)man has gone before. This will be, quite literally, the farthest from Earth that any human being has ever travelled.<\/p>\n

International effort to explore the moon<\/p>\n

That a Canadian astronaut is part of the crew of Artemis II is a testament to the collaborative international nature of the Artemis program. <\/p>\n

While NASA created the program and is the driving force, there are now 60 countries that have signed the Artemis Accords<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"an<\/p>\n

On Jan. 26, 2026, Oman became the 61st nation to sign the Artemis Accords.
\n (NASA)<\/a><\/p>\n

The foundation for the Artemis Accords is the recognition that international co-operation in space is intended not only to bolster space exploration but to enhance peaceful relationships among nations. This is particularly necessary now \u2014 perhaps more than any other time since the Cold War.<\/p>\n

I truly hope that as Integrity returns from the moon\u2019s far side, people around the world will pause \u2014 at least for a few moments \u2014 and be united in thinking of a better future. As American astronaut Bill Anders, who flew the first crewed Apollo mission<\/a> to the moon, once said: <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been 54 years since the last Apollo mission, and since then, humans have not ventured beyond low-Earth…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":552129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[159,783,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-552128","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-space","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115979771768729979","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/552129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=552128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=552128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}