Artemis II astronauts are preparing families 'for crew loss' if they lose contact with Earth
Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen has admitted he's spoken with his family about the possibility of 'crew loss' as he prepares to fly around the Moon as part of NASA's Artemis II mission.
Hansen is set to join NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch for Artemis II, which is expected to blast off in Florida today (April 1) and last approximately 10 days.
Marking the first crewed moon mission in 50 years, the goal of Artemis II is to test the Orion spacecraft that the crew will be traveling on, and confirm its systems operate as intended in deep space while crew are on board.
NASA has said the mission will 'inspire the next generation of explorers', but Hansen has made clear he's aware of the risks that come with taking part in the mission, and leaving his family behind in the process.
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Hansen, 50, shares three children with his wife, Catherine, and he spoke about his conversations with his family in an interview with CBC News: The National in January.
Acknowledging that it's a 'very real possibility' that Orion could lose contact with Earth during the journey, Hansen said the crew would have to be prepared with the 'bare basics' to give them a 'fighting chance' of survival if the craft had to make its way back to Earth with no communication.
"Obviously I've had that conversation with my wife and my children," Hansen said, though he acknowledged at the time there was 'still a little bit more work to do' with regards to preparing his family.
"What I want most is for them to know that when I launch - because that will be a very acute, stressful moment - that they're going to be okay if we have a loss of crew on the mission. Yeah, it'll be tough, and they'll go through a process of mourning, but we're going to set it up so that they're going to be okay."
Hansen is no stranger to speaking to children about the realities of space travel, having also spoken about the imminent mission to 5th and 6th Grade students at the Canadian Space Agency headquarters back in October.
At the time, the astronaut told the kids that the crew 'know there's a risk', adding: "The thing that you should remember is that if you're taking risks in your life, they have to be for a good reason, and we think this risk is for a good reason.
"We think it's pushing humanity forward and therefore we should take it."
Emily Brown