Artemis II Breaks Record As Maryland Astronaut Reid Wiseman Honors Late Wife, Former St. Mary’s School Nurse

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — Astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission reached a historic milestone Monday, April 6, 2026, traveling farther from Earth than any humans before while also sharing a deeply personal tribute tied to mission commander Reid Wiseman.

The crew set the new distance record at approximately 1:56 p.m. EDT (1756 UTC), surpassing the mark previously held by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970.

During the mission’s lunar flyby, the crew passed approximately 4,067 miles above the moon’s surface and reached a maximum distance of about 252,756 miles from Earth before beginning their return trip.

As they reached that point in space, the astronauts paused to propose names for previously unnamed craters on the moon— one honoring the mission and another honoring Wiseman’s late wife.

“We have a couple important things… our crew would like to propose a couple of potential names,” said Jeremy Hansen during the transmission.

“The first one we’d like to suggest… we would like to call it Integrity,” Hansen said, naming the crater after their spacecraft and historic mission. The crater is located northwest of the Orientale basin on the moon’s far side.

Hansen then paused and introduced the second name, noting it carried special meaning for the crew and reflected a personal loss within their close-knit astronaut community.

“And the second one, especially meaningful for this crew — we lost a loved one. Her name was Carroll. It’s a bright spot on the Moon, and we would like to call it Carroll.”

Tribute Honors Former St. Mary’s County School Nurse

The proposed name recognizes Carroll Taylor Wiseman, Wiseman’s late wife, who passed away May 17, 2020. According to an obituary published in “The Virginian-Pilot“, she was a pediatric nurse practitioner who worked at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters before later serving as a school nurse in Patuxent River, Maryland.

She is survived by Wiseman and their daughters, Katie and Ellie.

NASA officials said the proposed “Carroll” crater is located near the boundary of the moon’s near and far sides and may be visible from Earth at certain times.

Mission control confirmed the proposed names during communications, repeating both “Integrity” and “Carroll” as the crew’s designations for the features.

After the mission is complete, the proposed names will be formally submitted to the International Astronomical Union, the organization responsible for approving the names of celestial bodies and their surface features.

Wiseman’s ties to Southern Maryland date back more than two decades. He trained at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in 2003, graduated in 2004, and remained there for several years as a test pilot and project officer before being selected by NASA in 2009.

A Mission That Blends History And Humanity

The Artemis II mission, flown aboard the Orion spacecraft, marks NASA’s return to deep space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and builds on the legacy of the Apollo program.

The crew has since completed its lunar observation period and is now on its return trip to Earth following the flyby.

For Southern Maryland residents, the milestone carries both global and local meaning — a record-breaking journey paired with a tribute that ensures a St. Mary’s County nurse’s legacy may one day be recognized on the surface of the moon.

The BayNet has reached out for additional details on which schools Carroll Taylor Wiseman served as a nurse and will update this story as more information becomes available.

Artemis II Flight Day 6: Key Moments

Monday’s mission marked a major day for the Artemis II crew as they traveled around the moon and began their return to Earth.

At 1:56 p.m. EDT, the crew set a new record for the farthest distance traveled by humans from Earth. They later reached a maximum distance of 252,756 miles — 4,111 miles farther than the Apollo 13 mission in 1970.

“As we surpass the furthest distance humans have ever traveled from planet Earth, we do so in honoring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors in human space exploration,” Jeremy Hansen said. “We will continue our journey even further into space before Mother Earth succeeds in pulling us back to everything that we hold dear. But we most importantly choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.”

The lunar observation period began at 2:45 p.m., giving astronauts time to study the moon from about 4,067 miles above the surface.

Around 6:44 p.m., Orion moved behind the moon, causing a planned communications blackout that lasted about 40 minutes. When the spacecraft re-emerged at 7:24 p.m., communication was restored and the crew witnessed an “Earthrise.”

The spacecraft made its closest pass to the moon at about 7 p.m., before continuing outward to reach its maximum distance from Earth —reaching 252,756 miles from Earth — 4,111 miles farther than Apollo 13 in 1970.”

During the flyby, the crew also observed a rare solar eclipse, allowing them to study the Sun’s outer atmosphere and watch for meteoroid impacts on the moon.

The crew has now completed its lunar observation period and is beginning the journey back to Earth.

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