Four astronauts selected to orbit the moon say the Artemis II mission can help inform how Canada responds to food insecurity, health-care needs and climate adaptation in the Arctic.

B次元官网网址淗ow do we actually get eight billion people to row in the same direction and work on these problems? Because these are global problems,B次元官网网址� said Jeremy Hansen, a Canadian colonel who will join three Americans in space.

B次元官网网址淲e can do great things together. We can do better as a human race. And hereB次元官网网址檚 one small example,B次元官网网址� he said alongside his crewmates in a Tuesday interview with The Canadian Press.

The mission planned for November 2024 is part of an ambitious plan to establish a long-term presence on the moon, and has NASA hoping Ottawa further boosts its spending on outer space.

The 10-day mission involves slingshotting into deep space for a figure-8 manoeuvre around the dark side of the moon.

If it is successful, Artemis II will mark the first time any human has ventured so far from Earth.

It will also set the stage for another mission planned for 2025 that will include driving a vehicle on the moonB次元官网网址檚 surface and seeking materials that could be converted into fuel and building supplies.

Mission pilot Victor Glover said the diversity of the small but highly specialized crew, which includes people of two nationalities, a woman and a person of colour, is a deliberate message to the planet.

B次元官网网址淭his is an example of what we can accomplish, the challenges we can overcome,B次元官网网址� said Glover, who is Black.

B次元官网网址淲hen we bring our diverse skill sets together, our countries together, we can do what the president said in your Parliament: B次元官网网址榖ig things,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� he said, referencing President Joe BidenB次元官网网址檚 address to the House of Commons last month.

NASAB次元官网网址檚 audit branch estimates the Artemis program, which successfully sent an unmanned spacecraft around the moon last November and plans to have astronauts stay a week on the moon, will cost US$93 billion through fall 2025.

The ultimate later ambition is to install a manned outpost in orbit around the moon.

The crew noted that beyond the positive message of co-operation that the mission sends, there are a range of what Glover called B次元官网网址渋nspirational returnsB次元官网网址� and economic spinoffs.

Hansen argued the scientific research involved in the mission is particularly important for Canadians, as it will gather reams of data relevant to climate change and test out new ways of coping with remote environments.

He said there is B次元官网网址渟ignificant overlapB次元官网网址� between having a sustained presence on the lunar surface, and eventually Mars, and dealing with some of the problems back on Earth.

B次元官网网址淚f we canB次元官网网址檛 grow food in the Canadian Arctic, how can we expect to do it on the moon and on Mars?B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淭hese are areas that we can use the inspiration of space to help us bring real benefits to Canadians on the planet and society in general.B次元官网网址�

The Canadian Space Agency also sees the mission as a way to advance tech jobs in commercial space robotics, building on the success of the Canadarm series of robotic arms.

Hansen said Canadians must recognize B次元官网网址渙pportunity lies ahead for us, to leverage a program like Artemis.B次元官网网址�

For decades now, the International Space Station has been the only destination for astronauts. Artemis II will be the first crewed mission to the moon since the final Apollo mission took flight in 1972, and the four astronauts will be the first humans to use the Orion spacecraft, which re-entered earth last December after orbiting the moon.

B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 have a training plan thatB次元官网网址檚 laid out, thatB次元官网网址檚 tried and true and has been done a bunch of times,B次元官网网址� said astronaut Christina Hammock Koch.

B次元官网网址淲e get to invent it as we go, and itB次元官网网址檚 incumbent upon us to make it the best that it can be for the future Artemis flyers.B次元官网网址�

Koch knows a thing or two about what it is like to adjust to being off the planet, having spent 328 days in the space station.

B次元官网网址淒own can feel like up. You can literally feel like youB次元官网网址檙e moving when youB次元官网网址檙e not,B次元官网网址� she said of the first 48 hours in space.

Yet during that period, her team will be tasked with B次元官网网址渟ome of the most critical mission operations,B次元官网网址� such as steering the vehicle and measuring its proximity to other objects, she said.

Mission commander Reid Wiseman said the diversity of the mission was a result of choosing who was best for each role.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檝e got outstanding backgrounds and great skills,B次元官网网址� he said.

Still, the agencyB次元官网网址檚 head, Bill Nelson, made the point of saying a woman will be among those chosen to walk the surface of the moon when Artemis III gets underway, likely in 2025.

But he did not say whether the first non-American to step onto the moon will be a Canadian.

B次元官网网址淚t will be the first woman and the next man to walk on the moon. Any allocation of those assignments is way too early to talk about,B次元官网网址� said Nelson, a former astronaut.

He noted that the European Space Agency and Japanese Space Agency have both made B次元官网网址渟ubstantial investmentB次元官网网址� in joint programs with NASA.

B次元官网网址淓ach has flown multiple astronauts with us. Each is increasing their budgets for their space program, and I think we will see a parallel track with Canada as well,B次元官网网址� Nelson said.

B次元官网网址淣ow, with Jeremy going to the moon, I think CanadaB次元官网网址檚 participation is going to increase.B次元官网网址�

Hansen, the only astronaut on the mission who hasnB次元官网网址檛 already been to space, said he wants to show that itB次元官网网址檚 possible to go from being raised on a farm in rural Ontario to reaching the dark side of the moon.

B次元官网网址淢y message to Canadians is: B次元官网网址楧onB次元官网网址檛 keep yourself small.B次元官网网址� I think we have a habit of doing that,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 so much genius across the country to contribute to the world.B次元官网网址�

He said heB次元官网网址檚 excited by what the Artemis missions plan to discover, from monitoring climate conditions to seeing whether the regolith that coats the moon could be used to create structures that resemble concrete buildings.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going to have humans walking on the moon, weB次元官网网址檙e going have humans going to Mars and weB次元官网网址檙e going to be solving real huge problems on the planet,B次元官网网址� Hansen said.

B次元官网网址淭his is not the pinnacle. This is just one small step.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擠ylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

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