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Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the Artemis II astronauts to Ottawa on Wednesday telling them their recent trip around the moon has served as an inspiration for the whole country.
“Its a big big lesson, I think, for all Canadians of what teamwork does, what dedication does, what courage does, what human ingenuity is capable of and that it’s just the beginning,” Carney said in his office while meeting the astronauts.
“Thank you for what you’ve already done. Thank you for inspiring us all.”
Between Wednesday and Friday, the Artemis II crewmembers are visiting Ottawa and Montreal to talk about their experiences on the Artemis II mission.
Canadian astronauts Jeremy Hansen and his back-up Jenni Gibbons, who did not fly with the crew, were joined by NASA astronauts commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch.
Prime Minister Mark Carney met with astronauts from the Artemis II mission in Ottawa on Wednesday, saying the in-person meeting was the first time he’d had a chance to speak with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — whom he spoke with during the lunar mission — on Earth.
While in Canada the astronauts are taking part in public events, talking to students, engaging with Canadian space sector stakeholders, and granting a limited number of interviews.
The Artemis II crew blasted off from Earth April 1 and flew around the moon and back, travelling farther from the planet than anyone in human history.
The trip is the first step in NASA’s plan to return humans to the surface of the moon and, according to the agency, “build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.”
Carney noted that the journey was undertaken at great risk to the astronauts involved, but that it was “risk for a reason, to set up even bigger opportunities.”
Hansen said he was pleased to be in Ottawa enjoying the warm embrace of Canadians after the cold vacuum of space.
“This is just shining a light back on Canada about what we are capable of on the world stage and that Artemis II is just a step in a much longer journey for us and like you, we can’t wait to be a part of what’s next,” he said.
Hansen gave Carney a framed maple leaf patch that flew with the crew on their mission.
Carney in turn presented Hansen with the Canadian flag that flew over Parliament’s Peace Tower the day the Orion spacecraft splashed down in the ocean after their ten-day mission.
The crew will take part in a public event at the National Arts Centre on Ottawa later Wednesday where they will discuss humanity’s decision to return to the moon.
Later in the evening the crew will move over to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., where they will discuss their mission in the presence of parliamentarians and other stakeholders.
