Artemis II Crew Member Jeremy Hansen to be Honored Guest at Indy 500

Hansen, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, will take part in various Indy 500 festivities over the weekend.

INDIANAPOLIS — Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who was part of NASA’s Artemis II moon mission, will be an honored guest at this year’s Indianapolis 500.

On Wednesday, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced that Hansen will take part in several festivities over the race weekend, including Carb Day practice on Friday, the 500 Festival Parade on Saturday, and the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. Hansen will also walk the Red Carpet on the morning of the race.

Hansen served as a mission specialist on Artemis II with the four-member crew that became the first humans to travel towards the moon in over 54 years during the 10-day journey in April.

According to IndyCar, drivers can experience up to five G’s of force during a race while cornering and up to 1.5 G’s while accelerating. Those numbers are similar to what astronauts experience during a launch.