Artemis II crew and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen ready for historic moon mission

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen says he and the rest of his crewmates are ready for a historic trip around the moon.

The trip is scheduled for the first half of 2026.

It would be the first mission to the moon by astronauts since the last Apollo mission in 1972.

It would also be Hansen's first mission in space, making him the first non-American to travel beyond the lower Earth orbit.

Hansen says the mission is about the pursuit of excellence and says his fellow Canadians should be proud to be represented in this program.

Hansen made the comments at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, alongside veteran NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch.

Wiseman, the mission commander, says the team has named the space craft "Integrity."

It will serve as home as they perform their mission around the far side of the moon.

While NASA has said a launch window could open as early as February 2026, Wiseman says the crew, who've been training together for the past two-and-a-half years, will go when they are ready.

The U.S. space agency had said earlier it planned to hold the mission no later than April 2026.