NASA‘s Artemis II crew have chosen to name a ‘bright spot’ on the moon after commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife, who died of cancer in 2020.
The emotional request was made during their lunar flyby, which took them farther than any humans have ever travelled from Earth.
During a chat with mission control, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said: ‘Our science team helped us out with a couple of relatively fresh craters on the moon that have not been previously named.
‘And our crew would like to propose a couple of potential names for those areas.
‘A number of years ago we started this journey in our close knit astronaut family and we lost a loved one.
‘Her name was Carroll. The spouse of Reid. The mother of Katie and Ellie. And we would like to call it Carroll.’
As Wiseman wiped away tears, the four astronauts pulled together in a silent, floating embrace.
‘Leaving a mark on our hearts and on the moon. No matter how far we travel, the ones we love stay with us,’ NASA wrote in a social media post.
During a chat with mission control the astronauts requested that a ‘bright spot’ on the moon be named Carroll, after Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife (pictured)
The ‘bright spot’ is an unnamed fresh crater on the boundary between the near side and the far side of the moon
As Wiseman and others wiped away tears, the four astronauts pulled together in a silent, floating embrace
The crater is on the boundary between the near side and the far side of the moon.
‘At certain times of the moon’s transit around Earth, we will be able to see this from Earth,’ Hansen said. ‘It’s a bright spot on the moon.’
Carroll Taylor Wiseman, a nurse in a newborn intensive care unit, died at the age of 46 in 2020 following a battle with cancer.
Commander Wiseman, a former fighter pilot, has been raising their two daughters on his own since then.
Ahead of the mission, which will see the astronauts complete a mammoth 685,000–mile (1.1 million km) round–trip to the moon, Wiseman revealed he had discussed death plans with his children.
Before heading to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the 50–year–old took his daughters for a walk to prepare them for the event of his death during the mission.
‘I told them: “Here’s where the will is, here’s where the trust documents are, and if anything happens to me, here’s what’s going to happen to you”,’ he said.
‘I actually wish more people in everyday life talked to their families in that way because you never know what the next day is going to bring.’
Weisman with his late wife Carroll and two daughters. Carroll, a nurse in a newborn intensive care unit, passed away in 2020
Reid Wiseman, commander of Artemis II, is now a single parent to his daughters, Ellie and Katherine
Wiseman said that as a single father raising two teenage daughters, they understand the risks of the mission but also share his belief in the importance of exploration and humanity’s drive to push beyond the unknown.
The Artemis II crew dubbed another crater ‘Integrity’ in honour of the name they have given their spacecraft.
A NASA spokesman in Houston said the names proposed by the Artemis crew would be passed along to the International Astronomical Union, the body responsible for naming celestial bodies and features.
‘Lunar features are generally named after explorers, scientists, or engineers who have been deceased for three years, but several features have also been officially named for the provisional names that astronauts designate during lunar exploration, like Carroll’s,’ NASA wrote.
One example is Mount Marilyn, named for Apollo commander Jim Lovell’s wife.
Following the emotional request – which saw NASA’s mission control fall silent – people watching the mission took to social media to comment on the ‘beautiful moment’.
One wrote: ‘I was watching this live and I cried and cried. This was one of the most touching moment I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime.’
While another added: ‘Carroll, you were truly loved to the moon and back. And now we are all witnesses to your love story forever.’
Reid Wiseman’s family watched the historic moment unfold from the viewing gallery on the ground. When mission control told him his two daughters were smiling as they saw their father on a big screen, the commander responded by forming his hands into a heart
On Monday, the four astronauts set a new record for traveling 252,756 miles from Earth, farther than any humans in history, during their sweeping flyby of the moon.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated the Artemis II astronauts on setting a new distance record from Earth.
‘On the far side of the Moon, 252,756 miles (406,771km) away, Reid, Victor, Christina and Jeremy have now traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history and now begin their journey home,’ Mr Isaacman said in a statement on X.
‘Before they left, they said they hoped this mission would be forgotten, but it will be remembered as the moment people started to believe that America can once again do the near–impossible and change the world.’
Commander Wiseman’s family watched the historic moment unfold from the viewing gallery on the ground.
When mission control told him his two daughters were smiling as they saw their father on a big screen, the commander responded by forming his hands into a heart.
