A giant leap for snacks: Defence Team member sweetens Canada's journey to the moon
January 30, 2026 – Royal Canadian Air Force
Estimated read time – 1:45
CPO2 Joanne Legge, with support from 3 Canadian Space Division Public Affairs
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200 hand-crafted cookies featuring NASA’s Artemis II mission logo and Canadian Flags are being made by a Department of National Defence Employee for a launch event at Kennedy Space Center in Orlando, FL. The cookies are part of a pre-mission celebration marking humanity’s first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years, and honoured Canada’s own astronaut, Colonel Jeremy Hansen – a Canadian Space Agency astronaut since 2009 – who will serve as Mission Specialist on the Artemis II mission set to occur in early 2026.
Photo: Melanie Armstrong
As the countdown begins for the historic Artemis II mission – set to launch as early as February 6, 2026 – one member of the Defence Team is playing a delicious role in the celebrations.
Melanie Armstrong, a member of the Ottawa-based, Director General External Reviews Implementation Secretariat (DGERIS) team, has hand crafted 200 specialized cookies for an official launch event at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This isn’t just any event; it’s a celebration of humanity’s first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years, and it features Canada’s own astronaut, Colonel Jeremy Hansen – a Canadian Space Agency astronaut since 2009.
This culinary craftwork didn’t happen by chance. At a gathering hosted by the Hansens over the holidays, Melanie brought a batch of her creations to share. It turned out her cookies were the breakout dessert stars of the night.
That glowing endorsement from the Hansen family led to a phone call from Dr. Catherine Hansen this week, asking Melanie if she could make 200 of the signature creations for the upcoming launch festivities.
For Melanie, the mission hits close to home. Her wife, Captain Erin Edwards, a member of 3 Canadian Space Division (3 CSD) is currently posted in Houston Texas, working directly with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronauts at the Johnson Space Center as their operations officer and capsule communicator (CAPCOM); the voice of Mission Control.
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Melanie Armstrong is a Department of National Defence employee and passionate cookie maker. She is baking and decorating 200 cookies featuring with the Artemis II mission patch and Canada flag to celebrate Canada’s historic involvement in NASA’s Artemis II mission.
Photo: Melanie Armstrong, 2026
Caption
anadian Space Agency astronaut, and Royal Canadian Air Force pilot Jeremy Hansen smiles during suit-up operations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During a two-day operation, the Artemis II team practiced night-run demonstrations of different launch day scenarios like suit-up operations, walk-out, and arriving at the launch pad for the Artemis II test flight.
Photo: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Baking 200 cookies for a historic milestone requires more than just a recipe; it requires engineering. Melanie showed off two distinct versions she is preparing – one featuring the Artemis II mission patch, and the other a Canadian flag – each meticulously designed to celebrate the mission’s profile and Canada’s role.
With the Artemis II mission schedule to fly as early as February 6, 2026, Melanie’s cookies will be enjoyed at the historic launch by the Canadian delegation. For those lucky enough to have had a chance to taste one of Melanie’s cookies, they are known to be of top-notch quality and deserving of being shared at an out-of-this-world event.