TORONTO – A Canadian astronaut will be part of the US space program’s first manned mission to the Moon in more than 50 years in 2023.
“It’s official! Canada will join the US for the first manned mission to the moon in more than 50 years!” Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a Tweet.
The astronaut will be part of the Artemis II mission, the first mission to bring humans to the moon since the last US Apollo mission in 1972. Artemis II will not land on the lunar surface, but will enter orbit, said the Canadian Space Agency website.
The mission is part of Lunar Gateway’s US-led effort to build a small space station in orbit around the moon. Canada will contribute Canadarm3, a robotic arm similar to previous contributions to the US space shuttle program.