'For me, it's a little bit hard to believe.'
, where its robotics earn a mission about once every six years with current flight schedules.
"It really isn't about me," Hansen said."I feel a great sense of pride for Canada. That really hit me today. I felt it before, but today ..." he gently pressed his fist upon his chest, against the name tag."Ufff. It hit me really hard. It was so awesome to see NASA, the United States, showcasing Canada as part of this mission. It's not as a gift, but because we bring real value.
"Jeremy has been around, supporting the astronaut office, for many, many years," said Feustel, who recently became the first Canadian chief of NASA's astronaut office . He should know, as his crew operated Canadarm to capture Hubble for days of maintenance work before releasing it back into orbit. By sheer coincidence, Feustel's mission, STS-125, captured Hubble on May 13, 2009, the very same day that Hansen was named as a potential future astronaut by CSA. Hansen's commander on Artemis 2, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, said everyone on the crew has given thought to the historic nature of what they're hoping to achieve on the moon mission.