In an interview with World Information on the Johnson Area Heart in Houston almost per week after returning to Earth, Hansen stated turning into the primary non-American to journey in low orbit across the moon — and the overwhelming success of the mission — “had little or no to do with me,” giving credit score to the work of previous and current Canadian “visionaries” who made his journey doable.
“What this could do is shine a highlight on what we’re able to as a rustic,” he stated.
“I do assume we maintain ourselves small. And there’s been a rallying cry within the nation, however we have to do massive issues. We have to set massive objectives. … The truth that a Canadian flew across the moon in 2026 will not be as a result of it occurred final yr. It occurred over a long time.”
The four-person crew — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Hansen — splashed down within the Pacific Ocean close to San Diego, Calif., on April 10.
The ten-day flight noticed astronauts journey to the moon for the primary time in additional than 50 years, setting a document for the best distance travelled by people away from Earth. In addition they captured extraordinary photos of elements of the lunar floor by no means earlier than seen by the human eye.
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Hansen stated the enormity of what he skilled has nonetheless not sunk in for him.
“Each day I discover myself processing a brand new factor, remembering a brand new factor from the mission. So it’s going to take a while,” he stated.
“We’ve been so busy since we bought right here. There’s a lot science assortment to do. Each day we’ve bought a full schedule. I barely really feel like I’ve totally caught up with my household.”
He added it was troublesome for him to decide on a single standout second, finally itemizing almost each milestone of the mission as a spotlight.
“I might have gone for any one of many wonderful issues we noticed,” he stated.
“I might’ve gone for simply the rocket experience. I might go for simply that first feeling of floating in area. That first view out the window of the Earth up shut, the following view of the Earth distant. Seeing the moon, beginning to see a facet of the moon I’d by no means seen earlier than, seeing the moon up shut, seeing the photo voltaic eclipse behind the moon. I imply they simply stored coming.”
He continued: “After which setting your thoughts on getting again residence, and seeing Earth simply rising within the window slowly over the primary couple of days, after which in a short time in that final day in the direction of splashdown. After which, in fact, the experience to the Pacific Ocean was one for the books.”
Hansen is now grateful to be again residence and reconnecting along with his household — notably for returning to Earth in time to have fun his anniversary along with his spouse.
“That was a detailed one,” he laughed.
He stated the entire expertise has “strengthened” his perspective on humanity.
“We’re on this ball in area. It’s this oasis,” he stated. “You sit down right here and also you search for, it seems huge round you, however you go on the market and also you look again and also you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve seen it with my very own two eyes.’
“It’s unimaginable, the human expertise — the truth that we’re right here, we’ve developed up to now — and it additionally reinforces for me that we nonetheless have some work to do.”
That work is barely made doable by working collectively, he stated — whether or not or not it’s inside households, communities or a staff as giant as NASA.
“You possibly can really feel powerless as a person. You see issues like, ‘Gosh, I’d like to see that be higher or this be modified, however I don’t know the best way to do it,’” he stated. “However the actuality is that you just simply do the most effective you’ll be able to, and also you speak overtly and also you set objectives with folks and also you be a part of groups which are doing one thing inventive.
“I did have this sense once I was in deep area, trying again on the planet that I used to be very insignificant. However the truth that I used to be there, {that a} human was there experiencing it, made me really feel very highly effective due to the collective unity that it took to push 4 people there. We didn’t try this, the 4 of us. It was this big staff, extraordinary staff.”
Hansen stated he needs each the following technology of explorers and Canada as a complete to take inspiration from what the Artemis II mission achieved.
“What we must always do now’s we pat ourselves on the again for this accomplishment, as a result of it’s extraordinary … however we must be like, ‘What’s subsequent? What are we going to do subsequent?’” he stated. “Now … we now have seen this visible that we are able to do these extraordinary issues.”
He additionally emphasised that pushing ourselves to realize these massive issues mustn’t come on the expense of remaining joyful.
“We had the time of our lives on this mission,” Hansen stated. “It was onerous, it was difficult, it was harmful. However it was the time our lives.”
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