‘You can’t live in fear’: Parents of first Canadian moon astronaut brace for liftoff

Jeremy Hansen on his first day of school carried with him a Star Wars lunchbox. (Hansen family)

Nancy and Gary Hansen would prefer not to be in the spotlight. But when your son is about to become the first Canadian to fly around the moon, stepping outside your comfort zone comes with the territory.

The Hansens sat down in their living room in Ingersoll, Ont., this week to talk about the upcoming Artemis II mission. The historic flight will see their only child, Jeremy, and three U.S. astronauts potentially travel deeper into space than any human in history.

“I’m both excited and nervous,” Nancy Hansen said. “Some people think it’s just another launch. But when your child is on that launch, it’s different. I know we’ve been to the moon before, but this is a brand-new spacecraft. Everything’s new.”

The mission carries significant weight and inherent risk. The astronauts will board a capsule atop a new rocket system that has never carried humans. The 10-day voyage will see the crew test critical systems while flying around the far side of the moon, paving the way for a future lunar landing — the first since 1972.

“We’re very optimistic, but you also worry about your kids. It’s part of being a parent,” said Nancy Hansen.

Recently, there has been increased discussion regarding the Orion capsule’s heat shield and safety concerns. During an uncrewed test flight in 2022, the shield charred and wore away unexpectedly during re-entry. However, the Hansens say their son has assured them that if astronauts had been on board, they would have been fine, and NASA has since adjusted the capsule’s re-entry trajectory.

“They do all they can to mitigate the risk,” said Gary Hansen. “You can’t live in fear, or you don’t live.”

While Nancy Hansen has confidence in NASA, she admitted that hugging her son goodbye a few weeks ago brought a fleeting, heavy thought that it could be their last embrace.

“That’s in the back of your mind,” she said. “But overall, I think it’s going to go well.”

And she believes Jeremy Hansen’s pursuit of his dream is worth the risks.

‘I’m going to be an astronaut’

So where did the Canadian astronaut get his desire to go to the moon? His parents say it wasn’t from them.

Gary Hansen worked on a farm and later at the CAMI auto plant in Ingersoll, while Nancy Hansen was an accountant for a trucking company, and also worked at the auto plant.

They say Jeremy Hansen’s fascination with flight began at age five. Inspired by his grandfather, who earned his pilot’s licence at 59, Jeremy looked up the word “airplane” in an encyclopedia. While in the “A” section, he came across a picture of Neil Armstrong on the moon and his path was set.

“He came out that day and said, ‘I’m going to be an astronaut,’” Nancy Hansen recalled. “We didn’t think he would, but he kept up his interest in flying.”

“Then he went out that night and looked up at the moon and he was thinking ‘I could go up there,’” added Gary Hansen.

As a child, he converted a tree fort into a spaceship. His parents say he used bottle caps as control knobs and taped pictures of the moon to the walls.

“He put dials and stuff inside it,” Gary Hansen said.

On his seventh birthday, Nancy Hansen made him a cake decorated with the words “Happy Birthday From Space,” along with stars and a crescent moon made of icing.

His parents showed CTV News a picture of Jeremy Hansen on his first day of school, carrying a Star Wars lunchbox and another photo of him with his head peeking out atop a mock spacesuit. He posed for that during a family visit to the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

He worked hard at school, determined to get grades good enough to be accepted into military college.

“His friends in high school said when you went into their lockers, the boys all had pictures of girls. Jeremy had pictures of airplanes and rockets,” Nancy Hansen said with a laugh.

“So, it was all he thought about, was flying and being an astronaut.”

He joined the air cadets, skydived at 16 (his mom says he wanted to do it at 15 but she wouldn’t let him), then eventually flew CF-18 fighter jets. In 2009, he was selected by the Canadian Space Agency to be an astronaut.

While the other three crew members on Artemis II have been to space, this will be Jeremy Hansen’s first time leaving Earth.

“It’s a pretty spectacular mission for his first mission,” said Nancy Hansen.

When asked if they would ever strap themselves to the top of a rocket, Nancy Hansen replied: “Not in a million years. I would never do that,” noting she used to be nervous flying in a regular airplane.

Gary Hansen added with a chuckle: “I’d have to do some thinking.”

The parents plan to drive to Florida this weekend ahead of a potential launch as early as Feb. 8. Following the blast-off, they will travel to Mission Control in Houston to await the splashdown.

Jeremy Hansen, who is married with three children, is currently in quarantine. Once the Orion capsule heads toward the moon, he will become the first non-American ever to leave low Earth orbit. Orion will also venture further out from the far side of the moon than any of the Apollo missions and could set a record.

“I think it’d be a proud moment for the whole country,” Gary Hansen said.

His parents say Jeremy Hansen really doesn’t want the stories to be about him, but rather Canada and all of its contributions to the space program that are making the trip possible.

“He likes it to be about our country, and which it is about our country,” said Nancy Hansen. “But he’s also worked hard to get to where he is, so we’re very happy for him.”