Artemis II: Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Roger Hansen is set to become the first non-American to fly to the Moon. NASA announced Roger as a mission specialist for Artemis II on April 3, 2023. The other mission specialist for Artemis II is NASA astronaut Christina Koch, who is set to become the first woman to fly to the Moon. 


Roger and Koch will fly on Artemis II with NASA astronauts Victor J Glover and Gregory Reid Wiseman, who will serve as flight engineer and mission commander, respectively.


Artemis II is the first crewed flight test and the second leg of NASA's Artemis Program. 


As part of Artemis II, the four astronauts will venture around the Moon, in order to test and stress the life-support systems of Orion to prove the capabilities and techniques required to live and work in deep space in ways only humans can do. 


Artemis II will be an approximately 10-day mission. With this mission, the United States will be launching humans towards the Moon after more than 50 years. 


Here's everything you need to know about Hansen.


Born in 1976, in London, Ontario, Hansen has a bachelor of science degree in space science, and a master of science degree in physics. 


He is married and has three children. 


In 1988, Hansen's journey to aviation began when he joined the 614 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron in London, Ontario. At that time, he was 12 years old.


In 1992, at age 16, Hansen earned his Air Cadet glider pilot wings in Trenton, Ontario. 


In 1993, at age 17, Hansen earned his private pilot licence and wings in Cornwall, Ontario. The training led to his acceptance to Royal Military College Saint-Jean in Quebec. He started his degree at Royal Military College Saint-Jean in 1994, after completing basic training in Chilliwack, British Columbia. 


In 1999, Hansen graduated with a bachelor's degree in honours space science from the Royal Military College of Canada in Ontario. 


In 2003, Hansen completed his CF-18 Fighter Pilot Training at 410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron, the CSA says on its website. 


From 2004 to 2009, Hansen served as a CF-18 Fighter Pilot with 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron and 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron. He also served as the Combat Operations Officer at 4 Wing Operations. There, Hansen's responsibilities included ensuring effectiveness of NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) operations, deployed exercises and Arctic flying operations. 


In 2009, Hansen was recruited by the CSA through the third Canadian Astronaut Recruitment Campaign. 


In 2011, Hansen graduated from the astronaut candidate training program and started working at the mission control centre as capcom, which refers to the voice between the ground and the International Space Station (ISS).


In 2013, Hansen participated in the European Space Agency's (ESA's) CAVES program in Sardinia, Italy. The CAVES program is a three-week course that prepares astronauts to work safely and effectively in multicultural teams in an environment where safety is critical. The training is conducted in caves. During his training, Hansen lived underground for six days. 


Hansen has flown the historical Hawk One F-86 Sabre jet.


In 2014, Hansen became a crewmember of NEEMO 19, the 19th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations. This is a NASA mission that sends astronauts, engineers and scientists for up to three weeks to Aquarius, the only undersea research station in the world, in order to provide a convincing analogue for space operations.


In 2017, Hansen became the first Canadian to be entrusted with leading a NASA astronaut class. This means that he was in charge of training astronaut candidates from the United States and Canada.


In 2023, Hansen was assigned as a mission specialist for the Artemis II mission.