NORFOLK, Va. — Four astronauts on the Artemis II mission made history by venturing farther from Earth than any humans before, and they used the milestone to honor a late Virginia Beach native.
That same day, the crew named two new lunar craters. One was named Integrity after their Orion spacecraft, and the other was named Carroll to honor Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife.
Carroll Wiseman passed away in 2020 after a battle with cancer.
Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen announced the names over a communication device.
"The second one, and especially meaningful for this crew, is a number of years ago we started this journey, and our close-knit astronaut family, and we lost a loved one," Hansen said.
"So, at certain times of the moon’s transit around Earth … we will be able to see this from Earth. And so, we lost a loved one. Her name was Carroll, the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katie and Ellie. … It’s a bright spot on the moon," Hansen said.
According to reporting partners at the Virginia Pilot, the lunar crater is located on the boundary between the near and far side of the moon as viewed from Earth.
"It's a bright spot on the moon, and we would like to call it Carroll and you spell that C-A-R-R-O-L-L," Hansen said.
The Virginia Pilot reported Carroll Wiseman was a Virginia Beach native who graduated from First Colonial High School, James Madison University and Virginia Commonwealth University.
According to her obituary, Carroll Wiseman worked at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters. A spokesperson for the hospital said she worked in the emergency department as a nurse from 2000 to 2003.
"Carroll is remembered for being a phenomenal nurse and clinical educator who contributed to the growth and development of nurses in the emergency department," a CHKD spokesperson said.
The Artemis II crew turned a record-breaking mission into a lasting tribute, leaving a personal mark on the moon.
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