That's the question Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen is asking himself as he continues his training for the Artemis II mission that will take him around the moon.
Mr. Hansen says he finds his answer in the footsteps of his predecessors, who allowed Canada to take its place in lunar exploration.
The astronaut is a pioneer himself, as he will be the first Canadian to look so closely at the lunar surface.
Artemis II, organized by NASA, is the first lunar mission since 1972.
“We need to go back to the decisions that were made in Canada in the 1960s, when people realized that space could help improve life on our planet,” Mr. Hansen said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
Canada will be only the second country to send one of its astronauts so far into space.
Mr. Hansen, a big fan of science fiction stories, repeats it twice.
“How did we get to this point? The credit goes to visionaries. That's what happened. This is what we have achieved over decades to get to where we are.”
Mr. Hansen will accompany three other American astronauts when the Artemis II mission begins flight in September 2025.
Among them is Reid Wiseman. The Canadian has known him since 2009 because they completed the same training at NASA. The other two are Victor Glover and Christina Hammock Koch.
“I feel like I’ve known this crew for a long time. We are past the early stages of a relationship,” says Mr. Hansen.
The Canadian Space Agency and NASA have worked together since 1982. Still, there is no guarantee that Canada will maintain its privileged position for long.
“If Canada wants to remain an important partner, it must continue to make very visionary and very strategic investments,” emphasizes Hansen. We need to inspire ourselves and remind ourselves that we have achieved extraordinary things. We must not denigrate each other.”
It hasn't always been easy for Canadian astronauts to establish themselves among their American colleagues, agrees Hansen, who describes himself as “very integrated.”
The astronaut says he stands on the shoulders of giants like Marc Garneau, the first Canadian to go to space.
“Thanks to them we have a good reputation. When I arrived, I believed that all of our youthful problems were behind us,” he says.
According to him, creating a culture in which communication plays an essential role is the biggest challenge for the Artemis II crew.
We must even take the time to talk about the failures, fortunes, and deaths that may await us on the shadow side of the moon.
Astronauts must have complicated conversations to minimize the risk of losing a crew member, “but at the same time recognize that zero risk is unattainable.”
This month, Mr. Hansen says, the astronauts underwent strenuous training on the waves of the Pacific Ocean.
The goal was to stimulate the return of their capsule to Earth.
“I think I'll realize I'm going to the moon a few days before launch when I say goodbye to my family and make sure all my stuff is in order,” he says. Sometimes I’m scared.”