Gary and Nancy Hansen’s mission was to support their son's dream of going to the moon

It was the announcement Jeremy Hansen had worked his entire life to hear, and during an event at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, on April 3, Hansen learned he would travel to the moon as part the Artemis II mission.

Hansen's passion for the mission was clear as he addressed the gathering during the announcement, "A Canadian is going to the moon with our international partnership and it is glorious."

The days since that announcement have been a whirlwind of media events, including an April 6 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

All the while, for Hansen, it continued to be about the details as he worked with others from the Artemis team, currently being fitted for a specially designed space suit.

"There's no Artemis school where you go and learn a few things and take off,” said Hansen. “We actually have to figure that out."

Those close to Hansen said he has maintained a quiet determination that brought him to the astronaut program.

He and his parents recalled a moment when he was five. Fueled by a love of airplanes, he picked up a volume of the encyclopedia that led him to a picture of the first man to walk on the moon.

“Neil Armstrong, because he had ‘A’ out for airplanes,” said his mom, Nancy, from the family’s home in Ingersoll, Ont. “He just said, 'I want to be an astronaut. I want to go to the moon.’"

Hansen's father, Gary, said that passion never went away, "A lot of us say things when we're younger about we're going to be this or we're going to be that, but it changes. With him, it was his dream and he stuck to it."

Hansen said he may have set the goal but the support of others helped make it happen.

"I set this goal,” Hansen told CTV News in a videoconference from the Johnson Space Centre, “but the most important thing I did was I shared that with people, my parents and teachers. That led to air cadets and prepared me to join the air force. So there's a lot of people that invested in me, believed in me, showed me the way."

Gary and Nancy Hansen, parents of astronaut Jeremy Hansen, at their home in Ingersoll on April 12, 2023. (Gerry Dewan/ CTV News London)

That included Nancy making twice-weekly trips, 40 minutes in each direction, from their farm near Ailsa Craig, Ont. to the air cadets program in London, Ont.

She recalled a young man who teachers said would put effort into every elementary school test or project, thinking anything less than his best might put his dream of going to the moon in jeopardy.

"Before an exam Jeremy was just, like, really stressed. He always aced them but he still was very determined to get high marks.”

"You have to remember, you're talking to my parents,” Hansen said with a laugh after hearing his mother’s account. “It's important to recognize that I'm human like everyone else and I had lots of slip-ups along the way, but I definitely was focused."

Hansen wants every young Canadian to feel confident in telling others what they want and working to make it happen, "The thing to pass on is that you don't have to be superhuman or perfect or the best in school. For young Canadians it's important to realize that we're all the same. It just matters what you want."

Gary and Nancy were actually on a cruise during the lead-up to the April 3 Artemis II crew announcement. They were only able to get Wi-Fi service during a brief stop. Then they had to spend the rest of that trip keeping a very big secret.

"I messaged him and said I see that the announcement's going to be on April the 3rd,” said Nancy. “He got back to me and said 'Yes, it's me.’"

Just days after returning home from their cruise, the Hansen's were on their way to Houston to be part of the mission announcement. They're planning on going to the launch of Artemis II which is currently slated for November, 2024.