Carney to speak with Canadian astronaut after Artemis II lunar flyby

Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to speak today with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen following the completion of the Artemis II mission’s lunar flyby, according to a media advisory from the Canadian Space Agency.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is also expected to participate in the call, the agency said.

Hansen and three American crewmates completed a six-hour flyby of the moon on Monday, travelling farther into space than any human mission to date and surpassing the distance record set during the Apollo 13 mission in 1970, according to the Canadian Space Agency.

Carney has said Canada became the second country to send an astronaut on a lunar mission through Artemis II, calling the milestone a reflection of Hansen’s “exceptional skill.” The mission is part of a broader international effort aimed at returning astronauts to the moon’s surface, including a planned landing near the lunar south pole within the next two years.

The crew conducted imaging and geological observations during the flyby and is scheduled to return to Earth with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Friday, the agency said.