Cheers and clapping erupted inside the John H. Chapman Space Centre in Longueuil on Friday evening as Canada\u2019s Jeremy Hansen successfully returned to Earth with the Artemis II crew.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow is the beginning,\u201d former astronaut Steve MacLean told The Gazette.<\/p>\n
More than 100 workers and their families gathered at the agency, watching the return on live screens, as hundreds of thousands tuned in on NASA\u2019s live stream around the world.<\/p>\n
At 8.07 p.m. ET, the crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a journey. We are stable one, four green crew members,\u201d Commander Reid Wiseman reported to mission control. (\u201cGreen\u201d meaning healthy.)<\/p>\n
Hansen and crew\u2019s return marked the end of a mission that carried humans farther into space than any crew in more than half a century.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The four-member Artemis II crew \u2014 Cmdr Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Hansen \u2014 left Earth on April 1, looping around the far side of the moon and witnessing a solar eclipse.<\/p>\n
\u201cMission accomplished,\u201d NASA administrator Jared Isaacman celebrated in a post on X. The mission lasted 9 days 1 hour 31 minutes and 35 seconds, according to NASA, rounding up to call it a 10-day mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a test mission, the first crewed flight of SLS and Orion, pushing farther into the unforgiving environment of space than ever before, and it carried real risk,\u201d he said, praising the crew.<\/p>\n
The about 13-minute re-entry back to Earth saw plasma built up on the outside of Orion and temperatures reached nearly 2,760C. Orion re-entered Earth\u2019s atmosphere at roughly 40,234 kilometres per hour.<\/p>\n
That plasma build up also caused a blackout with mission control for around six minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt starts when they come through the atmosphere. As soon as you have a plasma around it, the plasma reflects all the radio waves, so they can\u2019t go out or come in,\u201d MacLean said earlier at the agency Friday evening.<\/p>\n Once through, parachutes then deployed, slowing it to around 27 km\/h before it splashed down in the ocean. <\/p>\n Recovery teams are expected pick up the capsule by helicopter and take the crew to the USS John P. Murtha, where the astronauts will undergo initial medical checks before returning to shore and flying to Johnson Space Center in Houston.<\/p>\n Artemis II launched on April 1 to fly around the Moon and back, traveling farther than any human has ever gone. They\u2019ll splash down in the Pacific Ocean around 8:07pm ET on April 10.<\/p>\n We can\u2019t wait to welcome them back to our little oasis in space. ? pic.twitter.com\/2oGQ076Vz0<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) April 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n The crew have been living in a space roughly the size of a minivan, sleeping in suspended bags and eating prepackaged meals while exercising daily to maintain muscle strength in microgravity.<\/p>\n There were also minor early glitches during the course of the mission, like a temporary communications issue and a fault in the toilet system.<\/p>\n Each astronaut was permitted to bring a selection of foods they were willing to eat at room temperature. Hansen said his choices included a handful of Canadian staples, including maple syrup.<\/p>\n A subsequent viral video showing a jar of Nutella floating inside the spacecraft prompted Carney to, jokingly, remind the crew Canadians prefer maple syrup on their pancakes.<\/p>\n Upon take off, Hansen described the disorienting view from orbit: watching Earth shrink dramatically from the capsule window, only to feel as though they were plunging back toward it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt like we were going to hit it,\u201d he said, recalling the ascent into orbit. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing that we\u2019re actually going to go around and miss this thing.\u201d<\/p>\n In the days leading up to their return, the astronauts had regular contact with Earth. Along with media, U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney each spoke with the crew. Both congratulated them and extended invitations to meet upon their return.<\/p>\n Maclean said before that among his top priority was the safe return of the crew. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just such a sense of relief,\u201d he said after. \u201cYou know, I said before, I was confident, but it\u2019s risky.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just really refreshing to have good news. The fact that this kind of a program can kind of make the world think as one.\u201d<\/p>\n Leonard Wang, who studies Machine learning at University of British Columbia Internship and is interning at the agency, was also among those who gathered at the agency Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re so lucky to be here at such a time,\u201d he said, applauding Hansen and the Artemis 2 crew.<\/p>\n Over the past week and a half, he added that the mission has galvanized the agency\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n Asked if he\u2019s been inspired by Hansen: \u201cAbsolutley,\u201d he repied, adding that he hopes to do something useful in society.<\/p>\n Hansen, a former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot from London, Ont., was selected as an astronaut by the Canadian Space Agency in 2009. He had since worked in mission control in Houston and taken part in underground and underwater space simulations.<\/p>\n The Artemis II crew was announced in 2023, a milestone that signalled Canada\u2019s deepening role in NASA\u2019s return-to-the-moon program.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is such an extraordinary example of collaboration,\u201d Hansen said from inside the Orion spacecraft early Saturday morning, reflecting on the partnership between the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cI am so proud of our country,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can send a human around the moon in 2026, just imagine what we\u2019re capable of doing next.\u201d<\/p>\n What do you think about Jeremy Hansen and the Artemis 2 mission? Write to me at hnorth@postmedia.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
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