Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen has given a glowing review of the new film Project Hail Mary, starring fellow Canadian Ryan Gosling, as he prepares for his own journey to the moon. Hansen, a member of the Artemis II crew, said watching the movie with his family was “a real treat” while getting ready for the lunar fly-around.
Speaking during a live event arranged by the Canadian Space Agency, Hansen described the film as “extraordinary” and praised its inspirational message. “Art imitates science and vice versa,” he said. “I thought it was just such an inspirational example – somebody who goes out there and just gets what was done to save humanity. It’s a pretty extraordinary example that we can all follow.”
Gosling, who hails from the same south-western Ontario city of London as Hansen, sent best wishes to the four astronauts ahead of Wednesday’s scheduled liftoff. The Artemis II mission aims to send the crew further from Earth than any human before, surpassing the record set by Apollo 13, which itself was the subject of a critically acclaimed 1995 film.
If successful, Hansen and his crewmates will travel more than 250,000 miles from Earth, setting a new milestone for human space exploration. The mission marks a significant step in NASA’s Artemis programme, which seeks to return humans to the lunar surface.
