Artemis II Crew Recounts 53-Minute Space Eclipse in First Canada Visit Since April 10 Return
Updated
Updated · Livescience.com · May 15
Artemis II Crew Recounts 53-Minute Space Eclipse in First Canada Visit Since April 10 Return
6 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · May 15
Ottawa hosted Artemis II’s first public event in Canada since the crew returned on April 10, with astronauts describing a 53-minute solar eclipse seen only from space during their lunar flyby.
Reid Wiseman said the April 6 eclipse initially competed with science tasks, until Victor Glover called him to a window to see the moon silhouetted against the solar corona and lit by Earthshine.
Christina Koch said she did not grasp the mission’s public reach until a late-flight call with her husband, when she learned broadcasts — including her widely shared braid selfie — were resonating far beyond mission control.
Jeremy Hansen, the first non-American to leave low Earth orbit, used the crew’s cooperation — and even a far-side maple-cookie ritual — to stress shared humanity and cross-border ties during a visit that included meeting Prime Minister Mark Carney.
As astronauts preach interdependence, can space cooperation truly overcome the economic friction between Trump's America and Carney's 'Canada Strong' plan?
With the moon landing now delayed to 2028, what did the Artemis II mission reveal that altered the program's ambitious timeline?
Artemis II’s 406,771 km Lunar Flyby: Canada’s Jeremy Hansen, International Collaboration, and the Next Era of Moon Exploration
Overview
The Artemis II mission, launched on April 1, 2026, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, marked a major milestone in human space exploration. Over ten days, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen and his crewmates traveled farther from Earth than any humans before, successfully testing the Orion spacecraft’s ability to carry people safely around the Moon. Hansen’s historic return on April 10 sparked a wave of national pride across Canada, highlighting the country’s growing role in space exploration. The mission’s achievements proved vital for future lunar landings and inspired renewed ambition and international collaboration for humanity’s journey beyond Earth.