Lunar love knows no bounds.
As the Artemis II crew speeds back from the moon, they’ve followed in the footsteps of Apollo 8 by suggesting heartfelt names for two lunar craters.
Commander Reid Wiseman and his team requested permission to name one crater after their spacecraft, Integrity, and another in honor of Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll. The request, made by Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen just before Monday’s lunar flyby, left Wiseman too emotional to speak.
Carroll Wiseman, a neonatal nurse, passed away from cancer in 2020.
“For me personally, that was the pinnacle moment of the mission,” Wiseman said from orbit Wednesday night.
This gesture echoes a famous Apollo 8 moment in 1968, when astronaut Jim Lovell named a lunar peak Mount Marilyn for his wife, who awaited his safe return in Houston.
The Artemis II astronauts—three Americans and one Canadian—are the first to visit the moon since Apollo 17 ended the era in 1972. Their request to name the craters left Mission Control momentarily speechless.
“It was an incredibly emotional moment. None of us saw it coming,” NASA lunar scientist Ryan Watkins told The Associated Press from Johnson Space Center. “Not a single dry eye in the room.”
Before launch, Mission Control’s lead scientist Kelsey Young helped the crew select the two prominent, relatively young craters, visible both through zoom lenses and with the naked eye. Wiseman recalled that the naming idea came from his crewmates while in quarantine, and he immediately agreed, though he admitted he was too overwhelmed to give a speech.
Carroll Crater lies near the moon’s left limb, on the edge of the near and far sides, and is sometimes visible from Earth. It spans roughly 3 miles (5 kilometers). The slightly larger Integrity Crater is located entirely on the lunar far side.
The proposal followed the astronauts’ record-breaking distance surpassing Apollo 13’s deep-space mark. The four crew members embraced, some in tears.
“We lost a loved one. Her name was Carroll, the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katie and Ellie,” Hansen said, his voice trembling. “It’s a bright spot on the moon, and we would like to call it Carroll.”
After a pause, Mission Control confirmed: “Integrity and Carroll crater, loud and clear.”
The moment marked a shift from the Apollo era, when male test pilots kept emotions private. “This isn’t a criticism of Apollo,” Watkins said. “We’re seeing a more human side of astronauts today.”
Once back on Earth, the crew will formally submit the names to the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It took nearly 50 years for Mount Marilyn to gain official recognition, receiving approval in 2017. IAU spokesperson Ramasamy Venugopal indicated a decision on Carroll and Integrity should take about a month for straightforward requests.
Currently, 81 astronaut-named lunar features are on the approved list, including Apollo 16’s Baby Ray and Gator, and Apollo 17’s Lara, named for the female lead of Doctor Zhivago. Some Apollo-era nicknames, like Apollo 17’s Tracy’s Rock or Apollo 12’s Pete’s Parking Lot, did not receive official recognition.
