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.
The record-breaking lunar flyby has offered a moment of positive attention for the United States at a time of heightened international tension over U.S strikes on Iran, tariffs, and disruptions to global institutions.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 24th July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
U.S. strikes on Iran entered a 12th consecutive night, while Yemen's Houthis said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, urging President Donald Trump to warn Tehran it would be held responsible for any future Houthi attacks.
The U.S. military said it completed a fresh wave of strikes on Iran late on Thursday, marking the 13th consecutive night of American attacks. The latest operation lasted more than two hours, according to U.S. Central Command.
Aleksandar Vučić's visit to Kyiv on 15 July appeared to send a geopolitical signal. But the significance of the trip lies less in the journey itself than in the limits Serbia carefully observed.
Spain has declared a national emergency and evacuated more than 10,000 people after uncontrolled wildfires reached the outskirts of Madrid. Emergency crews have rescued residents as multiple blazes continue to spread across the region.
Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appointed Kanishka Narayan as Minister for Artificial Intelligence, making it the first time the role has held cabinet-level status. The move signals a stronger government focus on AI as the UK seeks to strengthen its position in the sector.
Scientists have identified a planetary system in the Milky Way unlike anything seen before, leaving astronomers debating how to classify one of its unusual worlds. The discovery challenges long-held definitions of planets, moons and stars.
A U.S. federal judge has approved Anthropic's $1.5 billion settlement with authors and publishers over the company's acquisition and use of pirated books to train its Claude artificial intelligence chatbot, marking the first major resolution in the growing wave of AI copyright litigation.
More than 1,100 companies are presenting their latest artificial intelligence technologies at the 2026 World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, where innovation, international cooperation and AI governance are taking centre stage.
A humanoid robot demonstrated its ability to prepare regional dishes during a live cooking show in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, highlighting advances in embodied artificial intelligence (AI) and dexterous robotics.
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