Before blasting off to the Moon, the Artemis II crew found time to catch one of 2026’s biggest films. Before their historic trip to the Moon on April 1. They fit in some time to watch Project Hail Mary during quarantine.
Artemis II
Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen is giving Amazon MGM’s film two thumbs up. He, along with fellow crew members Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, got to see the blockbuster before setting out on their own space expedition.
Hansen opened up about the experience during a live media event. “We were all really lucky,” he said. “We got to watch Hail Mary when we were in quarantine. That was a real treat that they sent us a link to view that at home with our families, getting us ready to go on our own space adventure.”
During a Canadian Space Agency televised event, Hansen added, “Art imitates science and vice versa. I thought it was just such an inspirational example, somebody who goes out there and just gets what was done to save humanity. It’s a pretty extraordinary example that we can all follow.”
The timing couldn’t have been more fitting.Project Hail Mary was serendipitously released in theaters just over a week before the launch window for Artemis II. Star Ryan Gosling himself acknowledged the connection. In a video played on NASA’s livestream, Gosling said, “I play a biologist who goes to space to save the planet in the film ‘Project Hail Mary.’ But the Artemis II astronauts are going to space for real, and they will travel farther from Earth than any humans in history.”
Hansen and Gosling are both from the south-western Ontario city of London, in Canada. Adding an extra layer to the moment.
Project Hail Mary & The Launch
The Project Hail Mary love didn’t stop there. During the live broadcast of the Artemis II lunar flyby, Wiseman was describing the incredible view to the ground team. One of the NASA communications members replied, “Amaze, amaze, amaze”, Rocky’s catchphrase from Project Hail Mary. Fans of the film will recognize the quote as a nod to Rocky, the lovable Eridian alien who helps Gosling’s Ryland Grace on a mission to save humanity.
Hansen and his team are currently on a 10-day trip to travel around the Moon. This is the farthest humans have ever traveled from the planet, besting Apollo 13’s 248,655 miles from 1970. The mission is scheduled to return to Earth along the coast of San Diego at approximately 5:07 P.M. PDT on Friday, April 10.
Since its March 20 debut, Project Hail Mary has been a global box office hit, grossing more than $420 million worldwide. The film was adapted from author Andy Weir‘s 2021 bestselling science fiction novel of the same name.
