IDCI Club Supporting Iconic Graduate

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Thursday, 5 February 2026 05:53

Jeremy Hansen featured in IDCI display case. (Photo submitted by Jennifer Rowe)

Jeremy Hansen will become the first Canadian astronaut to circle around the moon and he graduated from IDCI in 1994.

INGERSOLL - A club at Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute (IDCI) is celebrating a past graduate that's about to make Canadian history.

Jeremy Hansen will become the first Canadian astronaut to circle around the moon, once the Artemis II mission takes flight this year.

Jennifer Rowe, the head of the History Department at IDCI, created the Artemis II Explorers Club alongside her colleague Phil Raven.

"This is such a historic and important event for not only the country, but also our little community. No matter where you come from, you can be a big part of something big!"

When Hansen was first announced as part of the mission back in 2023, Raven coordinated a school wide photo on the back football field in the shape of a moon. The photo was then sent to Hansen at NASA, in hopes that he will take the picture with him on his mission. It's unclear if he will actually do this or not, but he did send a personalized autograph back to the school and it's now on display in the front display case.

Hansen participated in two live stream events through the Canadian Space Agency this past November and December. The Artemis II Explorers Club hosted viewing parties for both of them with over 100 students in attendance. Hansen even answered a question that was submitted by the club during the December live stream.

Rowe says the club has about 20 members right now, and it's primary goal is to get the word out and cheer Hansen on. She tells us about some of the projects they have going on right now.

"We are temporarily renaming parts of the school to fit with mission control and different parts of space transport. We've got teachers in individual classrooms doing curricular connections from English to Science and even Art."

Hansen started in Grade 9 at IDCI back in 1991 before graduating in 1994 and going to the Royal Military College afterward.

The Artemis II mission was recently pushed back until a least March, after hydrogen fuel leaks were found during tests this week. More testing is scheduled to take place before the mission gets underway.

Once the mission is complete and Hansen is back on Earth, Rowe is hoping Hansen will visit his old stomping grounds and meet some the future astronauts, explorers, and scientists of tomorrow.