Caroline Workman, Can Geo’s digital marketing manager, who was onsite at Kennedy Space Center for the launch of Artemis II on April 1, shares that the moment was “quite literally out of this world.” 

“It is a moment impossible to forget,” Workman says, adding it was not just the sensory spectacle of echoing blast and orange sky that made it so, but the emotional impact as well. “When I fondly go back in time to this moment, I will first remember the excited phone calls from my brother; the tears, dropped jaw and look of pride on my colleague’s face as she watched the rocket disappear into the open sky; the pictures and voice memos from friends back home watching live. For me, the opportunity to witness and participate in a moment so punctuated by community and connection — especially at a time when those things can feel almost as rare as sending people to the Moon — was my favourite part of this mission.”

The small crowd that gathered at Canada’s Centre for Geography and Exploration to watch the launch together clearly agreed, judging by the faces in these photos!

A very Canadian in-joke

Hansen’s Canadian Space Agency colleague, astronaut Jenni Gibbons, served as a Capcom for the Artemis II mission, communicating regularly with the crew inside the Integrity capsule. At one point, as the crew began a new lunar observation shift during their flyby of the moon, Gibbons relayed some information about the capsule’s distance in miles from the moon and Earth. 

“The crew really wants to ask for that in kilometres and parsecs, but … thanks for that update,” Hansen quipped, prompting a laugh from Gibbons. 

“It’s a favourite moment for me because of its subtle impact,” says Riley Schnurr, director of the office of the CEO for the RCGS. “American hegemony, presented here via the communication of vital statistics in imperial units, is challenged in a distinctly Canadian style — softly but presently, with humility and humour.”

That viral zero-gravity Nutella moment

Moments before the Artemis II crew broke the record for the farthest distance humans have ever travelled from Earth, a jar of Nutella drifted weightlessly across the capsule. Can Geo director of Indigenous content and connections Jude Gerrard caught the instantly-iconic moment live on NASA’s stream April 6 and immediately uploaded it to TikTok:

Coincidentally, the chocolate hazelnut spread was manufactured in Brantford, Ont. — another proud moment for Canada.

The gorgeous new images of our blue marble

I never tire of seeing Earth from space. Contrasted with the dry, grey moon, it is a great reminder that water is life. — Meredith Brown, director of water and land relations, RCGS 

The closeups of our “heavily cratered” moon

“It’s really difficult to pick a favourite moment from the mission, as it’s been so exciting from start to finish,” says Gordon Osinski, a planetary scientist and professor at Western University in London, Ont. who has trained NASA and CSA astronauts in geological fieldwork, “but if I must, it was the lunar flyby. I have studied the moon for years and looked at satellite images of large areas of the surface of the Moon. But the images captured by the Artemis II crew of the surface are simply amazing and really emphasize what a heavily cratered planetary body it is.” 

The lunar flyby — and the crew’s enthusiasm — was also a favourite moment for retired CSA astronaut and RCGS Honorary Vice-President Roberta Bondar, who notes they were “running out of hues and superlatives” to describe the features they were observing. 

The naming of “Carroll” 

The most emotional moment of the mission came April 6 as the astronauts drew near to the moon and reported their chosen names for two previously unnamed features of the lunar surface. One massive impact crater was named “Integrity” — the name also given to the Orion spacecraft that carried them to the moon — while the other was named “Carroll” in honour of mission commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife. 

“A number of years ago, we started this journey [with] our close-knit astronaut family, and we lost a loved one,” Hansen said, referring to Carroll, a nurse and mother of two who passed away in 2020 from cancer. His voice broke with emotion as he explained that this lunar feature will sometimes be visible from Earth as “a bright spot on the moon.” 

The astronauts then wiped away tears and moved to hug each other — a remarkable display of humanity so far from home. “I find it hard to imagine there was ever a moment so human, so beautiful, as when Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen named [the Carroll crater],” says RCGS CEO John Geiger.

The visible bond between the astronauts

For Canadian Geographic managing editor Mike Bryant, the evident camaraderie of the flight crew in their messages back home was striking. “There’s been so much negativity in the world over the past year and a bit — questions about international alliances and whether they are working or not,” he says. “These four individuals have all put politics aside, focusing on the benefits the Artemis II mission promises to bring for all of humanity. We should all take some inspiration from the teamwork and magnanimity of this team.”

“[Artemis II] reminded us that at the very centre of exploration is teams of people who experience, interpret, and joyfully share discovery with the world, and in doing so, make it meaningful for humanity,” adds cave explorer and RCGS Fellow Christian Stenner. “This concept of humanity is not bound by place. Done with intention, it can travel with us across cultures and countries, and even beyond Earth, into space.”