Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to astronauts on the Artemis II mission on Wednesday, celebrating the first Canadian to fly around the moon and marking a lighter moment in U.S.-Canadian relations that have been strained under U.S. President Donald Trump.
Jeremy Hansen, a 50-year-old Royal Canadian Air Force colonel, is the first non-U.S. citizen to fly on a lunar mission. He is joining three U.S. astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission, a lunar flyby and a key step in a programme aiming to return astronauts to the moon’s surface by 2028, ahead of China.
"Canadians are so proud of what you're doing and the collaboration. And I,.. just want to have a chance, if I may, I mean, I'm thrilled. I'm absolutely thrilled to be speaking with you, Jeremy and the crew," Carney told Hansen.
"We've all been watching and inspired by what you're doing. And I just want to, you know, I'm conscious, I spoke to the president (Donald Trump), the other day. I think he may have mentioned just how proud we are to to be associated with this mission," he added.
The prime minister also joked that Canadians hoped the preference was for maple syrup over Nutella on pancakes in the morning, following the viral moment when cameras caught a jar of Nutella floating through the microgravity inside the capsule. The maple leaf is Canada's national symbol.
“And I just wonder, a lot of Canadians just want at one point of reassurance that the preference is for maple syrup over Nutella on your pancakes in the morning. (CREW LAUGHING) I’ll take that as a yes,” he said.
"Canadians couldn't be more proud of you personally, about this mission and our collaboration with the United States. So thank you for making the time and Godspeed and enjoy the rest of the mission. And we'll look forward to seeing you here at at some point in Canada. For maple syrup on pancakes,” Carney said at the end of the call.
Hansen, who promised to bring Carney a Canadian flag he brought on board, was selected for Canada’s astronaut corps in 2009, and his role on Artemis II reflects long-standing U.S.-Canadian partnership in human spaceflight. He also spoke of the value of risk-taking in space and on Earth.
"As a country, we have to be willing to have some failures," Hansen said. "And we fail in this space programme, but we just assure ourselves we're not going to stay or rest in those failures. We're going to push through them," said Hansen, who also took questions from Canadian school children.
The 10-day mission is due to end with the space capsule's splashdown near San Diego on Friday.
The mission coincides with tense trade relations between the two countries after Trump raised tariffs on Canadian goods and repeatedly suggested that Canada consider becoming the 51st state.
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