Who was Carroll Taylor Wiseman? NASA’s Artemis II crew proposes naming moon crater after commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife

When history was made on Monday, April 6, it wasn’t just about breaking space records. The crew of NASA’s Artemis II went nearly 250,000 miles from Earth, the farthest humans have ever traveled, yet their hearts were closer to home than ever. Amid the excitement, an emotional moment unfolded as the astronauts proposed naming a crater on the Moon after Reid Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll Taylor Wiseman, who passed away from cancer in 2020.

As the Orion capsule soared in the emptiness of space, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen’s voice cracked while speaking to Mission Control in Houston. “A number of years ago, we started this journey in our close-knit astronaut family, and we lost a loved one,” Hansen said. “Her name was Carroll, the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katie and Ellie. There’s a feature on the Moon, a bright spot near the Glushko Crater and at the same latitude as Ohm Crater. We would like to call it Carroll.”

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CapCom Jenny Gibbons responded: “Integrity and Carroll Crater. Loud and clear. Thank you.”

While the names are only proposals for now, they will eventually undergo review by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the body that officially names lunar features.

History shows this can take time. For instance, Apollo 8 astronaut Jim Lovell suggested naming a pyramid-shaped mountain after his wife Marilyn in 1968, but it wasn’t formally recognised until 2017.

Who was Carroll Taylor Wiseman?

Carroll Taylor Wiseman dedicated her life to caring for others as a newborn intensive care nurse, and later worked as a school nurse in various cities. That includes Patuxent River, Maryland, and Friendswood, Texas.

Born in Virginia Beach, Virginia, she graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University and spent her career helping children and families, notably at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk.

Carroll battled cancer for five years before passing away on May 17, 2020, at just 46. She left behind her husband, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, their daughters, Katie and Ellie, as well as her parents, siblings, and seven nieces and nephews.

Artemis II: Record-breaking mission meets emotional milestone

The moment wasn’t just symbolic; it was historic. On April 6, the Artemis II crew surpassed Apollo 13’s 1970 record of 248,655 miles from Earth.

New record🥇

The Artemis II astronauts are now farther from Earth than humans have ever been! At 1:57 p.m. EDT, they broke the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970.

Their journey around the far side of the Moon today will take them a maximum distance of 252,752 miles from Earth. pic.twitter.com/P5Swojpn0n

— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) April 6, 2026

As the spacecraft glided past the Moon, the astronauts spotted the site they hoped to name Carroll. Hansen described it as a bright spot near Glushko Crater, easily visible from Earth during certain phases of the lunar cycle.

In that zero-gravity capsule, astronauts Reid Wiseman, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch hugged in unison. Wiseman had even shared a pre-launch selfie on Instagram with his daughters, writing, “I love these two ladies. I’m boarding that rocket a very proud father.”