First Canadian to go to the moon
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Astronaut Jeremy Hansen will make history when he flies by the moon in 2024. Hansen will be the first Canadian to explore outside of Earth’s orbit.
Hansen is a former fighter pilot. He will join a crew of three US astronauts on the Artemis II mission. The mission is significant because it will be the first time humans travel outside of Earth’s orbit since the Apollo program ended 50 years ago.
The Artemis II mission will also include the first woman, Christina Koch, and the first African American, Victor Glover, to be part of a lunar mission. The crew members were announced by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency at an event near NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that Hansen is an exceptional individual who will make Canadians proud.
Hansen's journey to becoming an astronaut started when he joined a Royal Canadian Air Force club for kids at the age of 12. Later, he became a fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Then, he was chosen for an astronaut program by the Canadian Space Agency.
Canada has had several astronauts who have flown into space, but none have traveled outside of Earth's orbit.
The Artemis II mission is part of a bigger program to send astronauts back to the moon. The first mission, Artemis I, happened in December 2022 but was uncrewed.
Vocabulary22 words
- Astronaut
- a person who is trained to travel in space
- Make history
- to do something important that has not been done before and will be recorded publicly and remembered for a long time
- Explore
- to go and discover new places, things, or ideas
- Orbit
- the curved path that something (such as a moon or satellite) follows as it goes around something else (such as a planet); (The moon orbits the Earth)
- Former
- previous; past; ex-; before; in the past
- Fighter pilot
- a person who flies military aircraft used for combat
- Crew
- a group of people who work together; a group or team of people who work together on a vehicle like an airplane or a ship
- Mission
- an expedition into space; an important job that a person is sent somewhere to do
- Significant
- something important or having a meaningful impact
- Program
- project; initiative; a group of activities or things to be achieved; a plan with many parts
- Include
- to contain; incorporate; to be part of; to have something smaller as a part of it;
- Lunar
- relating to the Moon; something in connection to or from the Moon
- Announce
- share information openly; to tell the public; to make a statement; to report
- Prime Minister
- the head or leader of an elected government of a country
- Exceptional
- something or someone that stands out or is unusually good or outstanding
- Individual
- a single person or thing; a person
- Make someone proud
- to do something that brings joy or satisfaction to someone else
- Journey
- a trip; a travel; a long and often difficult process of personal change and development
- Air Force
- part of the military that uses airplanes and helicopters to protect the country
- Club
- an organization of people with a common purpose or interest, who meet regularly and take part in shared activities; a team;
- Several
- some; more than 2, but not many
- Uncrewed
- no crew; no people; no operators
Discussion questions
- How do you think Jeremy Hansen's background as a former fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force has prepared him for his journey to become an astronaut?
- What are your thoughts on the Artemis program and its goal of sending astronauts back to the moon? Do you think it is important for space exploration? For humans? Why or why not?
- How do you feel about Jeremy Hansen being the first Canadian astronaut to explore outside of Earth's orbit? Do you think it is a significant achievement for Canada and Canadians? Does it matter which country an astronaut is from?
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