Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen announced Monday that he is stepping down from his full-time role as an astronaut, months after flying around the moon on NASA’s Artemis II mission.
Hansen, 50, said in an Instagram post that he will transition from his role at the Canadian Space Agency, but that the change is “far from a departure.” He described his new role as a “deliberate launchpad designed to leave the door open for creative, ongoing ways to support and enable the vital work happening in Canada with respect to space.”
He said he will also continue to serve as a reservist with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
“To the Canadian Armed Forces, the CSA, NASA, our international partners, and my family: thank you,” he wrote. “And to all Canadians: thank you for believing in what our country can achieve when we aim high. The mission continues.”
Hansen has been in the Royal Canadian Air Force for 32 years and an astronaut with the CSA for 17 years, according to the CSA.
In 2013, he participated in the CAVES program, where he lived underground for six days, according to a news release from the CSA. In 2014, he participated in a similar program, NEEMO 19, where he lived and worked on the ocean floor in the Aquarius underwater laboratory and habitat for seven days, according to the release. In 2017, Hansen became the first Canadian to lead a NASA astronaut class, training astronauts from the United States and Canada, according to the release.
“Through his distinguished service in the Royal Canadian Air Force and invaluable contributions to Canada’s space program, he has exemplified the very best of Canadian leadership and excellence,” Canada’s minister of national defense, David J. McGuinty, said in a statement. “His legacy will continue to inspire future generations to pursue careers in science, innovation, and discovery.”
In April, Hansen and three American astronauts took part in NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed mission to the moon in over 50 years.
The crew set a number of records, becoming the first humans to travel that far from Earth, the first people to see the entire far side of the moon with their own eyes and the first astronauts to witness a solar eclipse from the moon.
“Right away, you are humbled,” Hansen told NBC News in an interview from space. “The fact that four of us get to be out here just brings you to your knees.”
He said the photos of Earth and the moon from the mission pale in comparison with what the astronauts were seeing in real life.
“I know those photos are amazing,” he said, “but let me assure you, it is another level of amazing up here.”
