Eastern Townships Food Technology Featured in Artemis II Mission

Cowansville, April 2, 2026 – The launch of NASA’s Artemis II mission on April 1, 2026, highlights a unique technical contribution from the Eastern Townships. Cowansville-based Aliments ACTIV Foods Inc., the parent company of Happy Yak, is providing specialized nutrition for Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen during his ten-day journey around the Moon.

This collaboration follows a 2018 engagement where the company’s products were utilized by David Saint-Jacques aboard the International Space Station. For the current lunar mission, the freeze-drying process was selected to meet NASA’s stringent safety protocols. While recipes feature standard ingredients like shrimp curry, the final products undergo rigorous analysis at the NASA food lab to ensure they are free of microbiologic   al contaminants.

CEO Guy Dubuc noted that while nutritional profiles match the company’s commercial expedition meals, NASA repackages the food into specialized pouches for zero-gravity rehydration. Beyond space, the company recently expanded into 530 Canadian Tire locations and is developing high-altitude rations for National Defence operations in the Arctic.

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