Royal Canadian Mint launches new collector coin to celebrate Canada’s part in Artemis II

Artemis II collector coin celebrates first Canadian to fly around the moon (Royal Canadian Mint)

The Royal Canadian Mint has launched a new collector coin celebrating Canada’s part in NASA’s Artemis II mission.

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen is the first Canadian to fly around the moon, making Canada and the U.S. the only countries to have ever travelled in deep space.

READ MORE: Canadian astronaut circling Earth after successful Artemis II lunar launch

READ MORE: Canadians gather at museums, libraries to watch Artemis II moon launch

The coin, designed by Canadian artist Pandora Young, is a $20 fine silver coin — 99.99 per cent pure silver — which illuminates with a blacklight.

The coin shows Hansen, one of the astronauts on the historic moon mission, in the blue-trimmed, orange-coloured Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) spacesuit.

On the spacesuit, there is a Royal Canadian Air Force badge and a CSA patch in the centre of the chest, and the Canadian flag on the left shoulder. In the background, there is an engraving of the moon.

On the other side of the coin, an image of King Charles III, created by Canadian artist Steven Rosati, is displayed.

Using blacklight technology will illuminate the moon on the coin, and the view of Earth from the moon is shown in the astronaut’s visor.

The coin currently retails for $279.95, with only 7,500 pieces available worldwide.

The Artemis II mission is the first crewed mission to fly around the moon and back to Earth since the end of the Apollo program in December 1972.

READ MORE: Here are 5 reasons Artemis II matters to Canada

Hansen joins commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch on the 10-day mission in the Orion spacecraft.

This mission, which launched on April 1, is a test to support later missions of the Artemis program to get humans on the moon’s surface.

The coin can be ordered by contacting the Royal Canadian Mint or visiting its website.

The collectable will also be available at the Royal Canadian Mint’s boutiques in Ottawa and Winnipeg, at some Canada Post outlets, and through the Royal Canadian Mint’s dealers and distributors.