CAPE CANAVERAL —

NASA’s countdown clock is ticking down as astronauts — including Canadian Jeremy Hansen — make their final preparations for the Artemis II mission, which is set to send humans back to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

“It’s a pretty historic way to go to the moon,” said Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk on Monday. “It’s the first time that crews have gone back there since Apollo.”

If there are no problems Wednesday, Hansen, 50, of London, Ont., will serve as the mission specialist for Artemis II and become the first non-American to travel beyond low Earth orbit.

He will be joined by veteran NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch.

Wednesday’s launch will be watched by people around the world and Hansen will be a great ambassador for Canada, Kutryk said.

“Canada is important to him, as it is to all of us,” he added.

Kutryk is not part of the mission but is observing from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. He said it’s not a coincidence Canada is joining the United States on this journey into deep space.

“That is the result of careful policy, careful investment,” Kutryk said. “It’s a result of Canadian engineers, innovators, things that we build in Canada that they can’t build anywhere else in the world.”

Canada might have a smaller population but it has always been right beside the United States in advancing human space flight, he said. Canada was the third country to launch a satellite and Canadians helped to design and build the International Space Station.

Canada was also the first of dozens of nations to join the Artemis program. Kutryk said Canada benefits from its collaboration with NASA “and that’s the legacy that we want to keep moving into the future.”

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick said Canada is an incredible partner.

“I’m just going to go back to a quote I say often: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” Dominick said Tuesday.

Dominick knows what it’s like to launch into space. He commanded NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station in 2024. He said the Artemis astronauts know it’s game time and are focused on preparing for all their upcoming tasks.

It’s likely Hansen will also take a moment to pinch himself and recognize he’s “actually going to space,” Dominick said.

“Once he gets to orbit he’s just going to be a machine knocking out his stuff,” he Dominick said.

Artemis is breaking ground for human space flight. Unlike the Apollo program, which sent men to the moon from 1968 through 1972, the Artemis mission is setting the stage for a more permanent human presence.

“We’re trying to go there, build infrastructure, build bases, build laboratories and be able to sustain human life to make innovations and discoveries moving forward,” Kutryk said. “That’s a key difference between Apollo and Artemis.”

The nearly 10-day mission will take the astronauts to the moon and back but won’t land them on the lunar surface.

The space agency attempted to launch the four astronauts in February, but the launch was delayed by hydrogen fuel leaks and helium flow problems. Managers said the rocket is doing well after the latest round of repairs.

NASA has a six-day window to launch Artemis II. Forecasters have said the weather should co-operate.

In the days and hours before launch, the astronauts are in quarantine going through last minute preparations and rehearsals, Kutryk said. They’re also changing their sleep habits to get on the schedule they will be on in space.

The astronauts will step into their pressurized suits about six hours before launch, and make their way to the launch pad an hour later, Kutryk said.

The launch itself — assuming it goes ahead as planned — will be loud, bright and spectacular, “all those things that make launches exciting for spectators,” Kutryk said.

“It’s going to give you goosebumps,” he added. “It will give you the shivers.”

Kutryk said it’s important for Canadian kids to see someone from home playing a pivotal role in a space mission.

“We have Canadian astronauts. We have a Canadian launching on the first mission of the moon,” he said. “If you’re a young Canadian, you should be growing up into a world where nothing is impossible.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press