Canada’s Artemis 2 astronaut says his country is just getting started in lunar realms with his round-the-moon mission.
Jeremy Hansen was named Canada’s representative on Artemis 2 on on April 3, and within days the experienced test pilot found himself exploring new worlds as a result: speaking with Stephen Colbert, walking the red carpet at Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, participating in an Indigenous vision quest, visiting policy-makers in Canada and the U.S., and carrying the flag at the coronation of Charles III.
After this work to connect with numerous communities touched by space, the Artemis 2 crew officially began training on May 15, studying the control systems and computers of the Orion spacecraft and other technical matters.
In a few months, however the training timeline “gets a little fuzzy” as this will be the first moon crew in a half-century. The crew is awaiting direction, as well as development of simulators and procedures, from senior management. “For developmental missions, that’s to be expected,” Hansen told Space.com in an exclusive interview.
But there are a few things Hansen is sure about for himself and his three crewmates, all NASA astronauts: commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch, and pilot Victor Glover.
There will be geology training to prepare for looking at moon craters, potentially with Canadian crater expert Gordon Osinski — with whom Hansen recently discovered a rare Earth crater on a previous expedition. There also will be continued conversations with Canadian and American policy-makers to chart out the path after Artemis 2, Hansen emphasized.
“Eventually, you’ll see us doing amazing science and deep space,” Hansen said. “You’ll see a Canadian walk on the moon someday, and eventually go to Mars, because we have that ability to to do it in a way that brings benefits to Canadians.”
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has suggested that Canada will have seats on Artemis 4 and 6, which are both planned moon-landing missions slated to run around the end of the decade.
CSA’s director of space exploration development, Martin Bergeron, disclosed those early stage discussions at the Canadian Lunar Workshop in late May, according to SpaceQ. (The first landing mission, Artemis 3, may be in 2025 or 2026.)
Hansen has been with the CSA since 2009 and has not yet been granted a seat, as Canada’s International Space Station (ISS) contribution of 2.3 percent generally allows for a mission only every half decade or so. (Canada’s Chris Hadfield flew in 2012-13 on a mission assigned before Hansen was qualified for space, and then fellow 2009 astronaut class member David Saint-Jacques flew in 2018-19.)
But Hansen is known in the space community for helming high-profile projects, such as managing the training schedules of the entire 2017 astronaut class, and playing a lead role in the creation four tricky spacewalks to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer aboard the ISS.
Many in Canada therefore pegged Hansen as the logical choice to launch on Artemis 2, but he said that was not a sure thing until he received a phone call from CSA president Lisa Campbell about two weeks before the April 3 announcement.
“I’ve known for a while that was sort of the intent, where we thought things would end up, so I wasn’t completely surprised,” Hansen said of the assignment. “But on the other hand, you just never know. It depends on when a mission actually is going to end up going, and there’s always that uncertainty. We don’t decide any further in advance than when we have to, because it just takes away options.”
Canada received its seat due to its contribution of Canadarm3, a next generation robotic arm that will service NASA’s planned Gateway space station at the moon. Canada has paid for its seats through the Canadarm series since the dawn of the space shuttle program, and recently allocated even more space money for a mini-moon rover, a lunar utility vehicle and further moon research development.
The country, which has less than 40 million people spread across one of the biggest land spaces in the world, uses its small space budget to make strategic bets meant to pay off big. Robotics is one area, with space medicine, space food and artificial intelligence also seen as key investments for Canadian government.
Hansen emphasized this coalition work with NASA is important, not only for space opportunities but for the applications for remote environments on Earth.
“I’m really proud of this enormous team. I get to be the face of it for this mission, but it really reflects back on a huge team of people that made this possible,” Hansen said. “It’s Canada on the world stage. American leadership makes space for a country like Canada to shine, and bring our genius.”
Indeed, Canadians collaborated with NASA on moon exploration long before CSA was formed in March 1989. For example: A few dozen engineers of the cancelled Avro Arrow, a supersonic plane project, joined NASA in key roles as the agency was preparing human moon missions in the 1960s. Also, Canadian “legs” from company Devtek (today’s Héroux-Devtek) were used on the Apollo lunar lander during all human missions.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
