Jeremy Hansen

Colonel Jeremy Roger Hansen, CD, is a Royal Canadian Air Force officer, fighter pilot, astronaut, and one of Canada’s most significant modern explorers.

Born in London, Ontario, on 27 January 1976, Hansen was raised in southwestern Ontario and developed an early passion for flight. At age 12, he joined 614 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron in London. He earned his glider pilot wings at 16 and his private pilot licence at 17, beginning a path that would take him from cadet aviation to fighter aircraft and, ultimately, deep space.

Hansen attended the Royal Military College of Canada, earning a Bachelor of Science in Space Science in 1999 and a Master of Science in Physics in 2000. He trained as a CF-18 fighter pilot and served with 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron and 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron. He also served as Combat Operations Officer at 4 Wing Cold Lake, where his work included NORAD operations, Arctic flying operations, and deployed exercises.

In 2009, Hansen was selected by the Canadian Space Agency as one of Canada’s newest astronauts. After completing astronaut candidate training, he worked with NASA in mission operations, including service as a capcom — the voice link between Mission Control and astronauts in space. He also took part in demanding exploration training, including underground and underwater mission simulations designed to prepare astronauts for future deep-space operations.

Hansen made Canadian history as a member of Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon since the Apollo era. Flying with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch aboard the Orion spacecraft Integrity, Hansen became the first Canadian and the first non-American to travel to the Moon. The mission launched on 1 April 2026 and successfully completed its journey around the Moon before returning safely to Earth with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on 10 April 2026. During the mission, the crew travelled farther from Earth than any humans before them.

On 6 July 2026, Colonel Hansen retired from the Royal Canadian Air Force, closing a remarkable military career that had carried him from Air Cadet, to CF-18 fighter pilot, to lunar astronaut. His service represents a rare combination of military discipline, scientific achievement, national representation, and exploration courage. Hansen’s career stands as a modern Canadian story of service: not on a battlefield, but at the edge of human possibility.