Mark Carney tells Jeremy Hansen Canada is ‘so proud of you,’ talks maple syrup vs. Nutella
Mark Carney told Jeremy Hansen Wednesday that “all Canadians are so proud of you,” as the country marked a milestone with the United States in space.
Then the prime minister turned to a different matter.
“A lot of Canadians just want a point of reassurance,” he said during a call with the crew of Artemis II. “The preference is for maple syrup over Nutella on your pancakes in the morning.”
Carney’s remark drew laughter aboard the spacecraft, now returning to Earth after travelling farther than any humans before, surpassing the distance record set by Apollo 13. A video earlier in the mission showed a tub of Nutella floating mid-air among the crew.
“Absolutely, sir,” Hansen replied, as fellow astronaut Christina Koch scrambled to find the maple syrup.
Hansen and his three American crewmates returned from a seven-hour lunar flyby on Monday. The mission is now on Day 8 out of 10.
They joined the call with Carney, organized with the Canadian Space Agency in Longueuil at a session that was attended in person by Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and Canadian students. Carney joined remotely.
The crew had a separate call earlier in the week with U.S. President Donald Trump. Hansen thanked him for his support of the mission.
Beginning in French, Carney told Hansen, “We’ve all been watching and are inspired by what you’re doing,” and asked about lessons in teamwork and collaboration.
“First, it is an honour to have the prime minister here aboard,” Hansen said, adding that the moment reflected years of Canadian work in space.
“Canada put in the work,” Hansen said. “We created this opportunity to be here in deep space. So, Canada, I’m also proud of you.”
Other crew members pointed to collaboration as being central to the mission.
Cmdr. Reid Wiseman described “willingness” as key to teamwork, recalling training at the Canadian Space Agency in the Montreal area.
“I flew to the International Space Station in 2014, and before we go up there, we have to go to Montreal to the Canadian Space Agency and do training,” Wiseman said. “It was amazing — in just one week of robotics training, I made lifelong friends from Canada.”
Victor Glover also thanked Canadians for their hospitality, while Koch emphasized “when you go together, when you bring in partners and contributors who are excited about the same mission but have different talents, you can go so much farther.”
Carney then asked Hansen about how the mission represented “a risk for a good reason.”
“We do think risk is necessary, but it has to be calculated, well thought out and balanced with others,” Hansen said.
“For young people making those decisions, do it in collaboration. This is a huge ingredient in a successful team. People will point out when you’re out over your skis, so you have to be smart about how you take risks.
“But as a country, we have to be willing to accept some failures. We have failed in this space program, but we reassure ourselves that we’re going to push through them.”
Editor’s Picks
Before the end of the call, Hansen showed the prime minister a Canadian flag patch, telling him: “We have this on board flying, and when we get back, we’d love to make sure this gets to you.”
Carney thanked Hansen and the crew and invited them to Canada.
“I just want to reinforce what you said: Whether it’s in Canada, the United States or around the world, the example you’re setting, how to reach literally for the stars, is hugely inspiring,” he said. “You’re setting a platform for the world to go even farther.
“We look forward to seeing you here in Canada at some point, for maple syrup on pancakes.”
Do you have a story tip? Write to me at hnorth@postmedia.com
The post Mark Carney tells Jeremy Hansen Canada is ‘so proud of you,’ talks maple syrup vs. Nutella appeared first on Montreal Gazette.