Introducing Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremy Hansen

As a young boy growing up on a farm in Southern Ontario, Jeremy Hansen turned his tree house into a spaceship. At the age of 12, he joined the Air Cadets and later became a CF-18 fighter pilot. A modern-day explorer, Jeremy has lived in underground caves, did geological training expeditions in the High Arctic and just generally craves adventure. On May 13, 2009, he was recruited by the Canadian Space Agency as one of two new astronauts after a year-long process.

While waiting for a flight assignment, LCol Hansen works as Capcom at NASA’s Mission Control Center—the voice between the ground and the ISS. He has recently acted as Lead Capcom for Expedition 39 as part of his current duties with the Training and Capcom branches. His responsibilities have also focused on establishing a new training program where astronauts simulate a week onboard the ISS to strengthen their expeditionary skills. In 2011–2013, he was assigned as Crew Support Astronaut for Expedition 34/35.

In addition to his day-to-day work, LCol Hansen remains committed to building and maintaining his skills; he takes training in spacewalk and robotics while continuing to learn Russian. He has taken part in geological expeditions in the High Arctic and participated in the European Space Agency’s CAVES program, during which he lived underground for six days. LCol Hansen also continues to fly the CF-18 fighter jet with the Royal Canadian Air Force and had the privilege to inspire young Canadians by flying the historical Hawk One F-86 Sabre jet.