Artemis II Mission: King Charles sends letter to astronaut Jeremy Hansen

King Charles has sent a letter to Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen to acknowledge Canada’s role in the Artemis II mission, which is set to launch today.

On Wednesday three men and one woman are set to embark on the first crewed journey to the Moon since 1972, a landmark odyssey that aims to launch the US into a new era of space exploration.

The NASA mission dubbed Artemis II has been years in the making after facing repeated setbacks, but is finally scheduled to take off from Florida as early as April 1 at 6:24 pm (2224 GMT).

The team featuring Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen will set forth on the approximately 10-day mission and hurtle around Earth´s natural satellite without landing -- much like Apollo 8 did in 1968.

The Canadian Space Agency shared King Charles message on its official X, formerly Twitter handle, and tweeted, “King Charles III sent a letter to Astro_Jeremy to acknowledge Canada’s role in the Artemis II mission.”

“In this historic moment, you stand as a bridge between nations and generations, and I commend you for the courage, discipline and vision that have brought you to this threshold,” King Charles letter reads.

Reacting to the monarch’s letter, Jeremy Hansen said, “I was deeply touched to receive this message, which honours the collective vision and dedication behind this historic moment.”