A commemorative silver coin believed to be the Royal Canadian Mint’s recently released 2026 “Moon Mission” collector issue was presented to the Artemis II crew during a May 13 visit to Parliament Hill, linking the Mint’s latest space-themed release with one of the most significant moments in Canadian space history.
While news coverage of the Ottawa visit did not specifically identify the coin, reports described Prime Minister Mark Carney presenting the astronauts with silver coins featuring a colour image of an astronaut on one side and the effigy of King Charles III on the other. The description closely matches the Mint’s new $20 fine silver “Moon Mission” coin, released around the time of the Artemis II mission celebrating Canada’s role in lunar exploration.
The visit marked the crew’s first major public appearance in Canada following the 10-day Artemis II mission, which carried Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission commander Reid Wiseman and astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch farther from Earth than any humans before them during their journey around the far side of the moon. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jenni Gibbons, who worked as part of the Mission Control team in Houston during the mission, also participated in the Ottawa events.
Carney welcomed the crew during a meeting at the prime minister’s office on Parliament Hill, describing the mission as an important step toward future deep-space exploration. Hansen told reporters Artemis II represented “just a step on a much longer journey,” adding the crew was eager to help shape future lunar missions. The astronauts later participated in a sold-out public discussion at the National Arts Centre focused on the future of human spaceflight and Canada’s expanding role in international space exploration.
The Mint’s “Moon Mission” coin celebrates Canada becoming only the second country to send an astronaut around the moon through its partnership in the NASA-led Artemis program. The release highlights Hansen’s historic role as the first Canadian astronaut selected for a lunar mission and reflects growing national interest in Canada’s contributions to deep-space exploration.
Struck in one ounce of 99.99 per cent pure silver, the coin carries a limited mintage of 7,500 pieces and retails for $279.95. Its selectively coloured reverse depicts Earth as seen from the moon, symbolizing both the fragility of the planet and the perspective gained through space travel. The design also incorporates a black-light colour reveal effect intended to recreate the dramatic visual experience astronauts encounter in deep space.
The reverse was designed as an interactive tribute to the Artemis II mission and humanity’s return to lunar exploration more than 50 years after the Apollo era. The obverse features the effigy of King Charles III. Each coin is encapsulated and presented in a black Mint-branded clamshell case with a serialized certificate.
During the Parliament Hill meeting, Carney also presented Hansen with the Canadian flag that flew atop the Peace Tower on the day the Artemis capsule splashed down off the California coast following the mission. Hansen, in turn, presented the prime minister with a framed Canadian flag patch carried aboard the spacecraft during the journey. Mounted alongside a photograph of Earth taken from the far side of the moon, the presentation piece included signatures from all four Artemis II crew members.
The Artemis program is expected to continue with Artemis III, currently scheduled for next year, ahead of Artemis IV in 2028, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface. For collectors, the Mint’s “Moon Mission” issue now stands as an early numismatic tribute tied directly to a landmark chapter in Canadian and international space exploration.