How it started - how it's going. Yuri Gagarin was the first, 65 years ago today. Artemis 2 crew, safely back from the Moon this week. I salute the bravery, and marvel at what we can do. We've only just begun.

4 people are flying around that Moon today. The first since 1972, and the first-ever with digital cameras, to see better into the dark craters and textures. The crew will have perfect quiet when the Moon blocks out Earth - a time of peace, alone, together.

Spacewalk selfie - cool details if you zoom in: - jetpack thrusters above my shoulders - handy copper wireties for many tasks - brown oxygen purge valve by my left ear - helmet lights and video cameras - da Vinci Vitruvian spacewalker patch - Canadian flag - Earth, thin blue line, blackness of space

The fjords of Norway are so deep and beautiful. Worth exploring by boat or plane - or zooming in from space. That's Jostedalsbreen, Europe's largest glacier. details: esa.int/.../03/Earth... photo: ESA Copernicus Sentinel satellite

Today, high above your head, 2 human beings are working out in the void. Chris Williams (1st spacewalk) & Jessica Meir (4th) are improving solar arrays, as Space Station will be up & working through at least 2032. One of humanity's most amazing experiences. Watch live here: youtu.be/VlB_ZtDLAOQ

Imagine a bird crashing thru the windscreen of your airplane, taking out your left eye. Then somehow turning your head to deflect the blood in the roaring wind & safely land. My friend Syd Burrows. After the accident he changed his callsign to Cyclops. He passed away today at 95. Ad Astra, Syd.

We have just proven that we can deflect asteroids. Ever since NASA crashed the DART probe into this asteroid's little moon, we've been tracking the result. Now we know its 770-day orbit around the Sun changed by enough to defend our Earth. The dinosaurs wish they'd had a space program!

I found this LIFE magazine back-issue. 100s of thousands came to Cape Canaveral to watch the launch live, with 100s of millions tuned in on TV. Makes me wonder where the naysayers think the gigantic Saturn V rockets went? Will be great to see the next crew launch to the Moon soon on Artemis 2! .

From Niagara Falls to the CN Tower, the view flying into Toronto is beautiful! And nice to see the ice mostly melted on this pretty, early Spring day.

Pockets Warhol, abstract painter and capuchin monkey, has passed away, just shy of his 34th birthday, I’m eternally grateful for the artwork he made me. Titled “No Borders in Space” by the staff at Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary. Find the art in yourself and everything around you.

Immediately after launch there are lots of tasks. While reconfig'ing Endeavour for orbit, I took detailed images of our jettisoned external tank. If it was scarred, then our belly tiles were likely damaged: important, to try & fix before the heat of re-entry. Luckily it was clean - an amazing day!

I’m delighted by the elegant, efficient origami art of an unfolded box. Purposeful design and technology that we take for granted, yet enabling so many things. And it looks like a robot.

A significant announcement coming from NASA about Moon landings. Simplify the rocket, increase # of Artemis flights, launch them at least 1 per year. Meanwhile the SLS rocket is back in the barn getting its helium flow fixed and new batteries. Hopefully launch the crew of 4 to the Moon in a month.

Flying a spaceship up to dock with a space station is an extreme event. Our range sensors failed, so we had to use eyeball visuals & a stopwatch to figure the angles & speeds. Hit too hard or crooked & we could have broken the space station, killing its crew. An incredibly tense final 10 minutes.

The best way to simulate weightlessness is to train underwater, in NASA's 40-ft deep pool. The safety divers attach weights/foam to our spacesuits so the buoyancy is perfectly neutral, even when upside down or sideways. It's an art. The years of expert preparation made my spacewalks feel familiar.

Wearing my ⁦@teamcanadaforever.bsky.social jersey all day today, honouring the superb athletes who competed on the world stage & made us all so proud. I especially loved seeing their parents, emotion on their faces showing the years of work & our shared humanity of hopes & dreams together.

How do rockets work? A fire extinguisher is just a small rocket nozzle; a chair & cart make a good spaceship. Does it work in space with no air to push against? The mass blasting out makes me roll. Doesn't need any backstop. Newton's 2nd law. Good to have a landing plan - thanks @uwaterloo.ca!

I'm watching two things live today while trying to work: ** Women's hockey Olympic final ** ** Artemis Moon rocket filling with fuel ** I'm on the edge of my seat, wishing both complete success, but mostly - Go @teamcanadaforever.bsky.social !!!

This is a wild moment inside the cockpit, just 2 mins after leaving Florida. There's a sudden blast of pyrotechnics. Even though we're going Mach 5, the air's so thin the explosion arches out in front of the windows. I've done it twice, Atlantis & Endeavour. A great start to an amazing adventure.

Leaving tomorrow for 8 months off-world. Life is deceptively normal. Just another day in years of training. You can't let yourself believe it, or it would drive you nuts. But suddenly the engines shut off. You're there, weightless, the planet & doubts behind you. Watch youtu.be/zCM-Kwq91cc #NASA

Such a horrific tragedy in Tumbler Ridge. I can’t imagine the shock and grief for everyone there, and pray that the wounded survive. Dealing with the aftermath will be so incredibly hard. My heart aches for the families and community.

Why are Magnolia flowers so thick? They evolved before bees - had to be tough, for rougher bugs to pollinate. Open all day to attract foraging beetles, they close at dusk. The trapped bug gets covered in new pollen & with dawn, beetles off. Beetles like purple. I appreciate their ancient esthetic.

Some Seahawks have a bird's-eye view. #SuperBowlLX @seahawksofficial.com

I love the Olympics games! The best of human capability & international competitive spirit, shared for everyone on Earth to see. You can find all the Italian Alps venues in this image taken from space, plus the blue waters by Venice. To zoom in: esa.int/ESA_Multimed... (image: ESA Copernicus)

Hi to fellow writers. In my 2nd thriller, The Defector, a key tech for the plot is nuclear thermal rockets. They're real, tested in the 60/70s, developed now for long space travel. I most enjoy writing when fiction is so close to fact it's hard to tell the difference: www.chrishadfield.ca/books/

Almost a thousand years ago, someone carefully embroidered a fiery comet on a long strip of linen. I love the expressions of the guys pointing at it, and the man informing King Harold. It was Halley's Comet, which orbits the Sun every 76 years. universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2026...

Launch delayed 'til March due to hydrogen leaks, a balky hatch, need to launch a crew to Space Station, & geometry with the Moon. Next opportunities: March 6, 7, 8, 9, 11. Sorry, families. Another month of training & preparation to get it all right. The Moon will patiently wait. (photo NASA KSC)

Oh no - my heart goes out to Catherine O'Hara's family. Such a great Canadian example of grit, talent, originality and laughter-filled optimism. All the wonderful things you have done will live on. Rest in peace. cbc.ca/news/enterta...

I don't know about you, but I'd like some Moonbits! A warming snack while we wait for the cold weather to move through Florida. New launch date Sun 8 Feb: nasa.gov/blogs/missio... @timhortonsofficial.bsky.social

It's about TIME we went back, to stay - great cover.