“It’s crazy, but it’s true, there’s nothing I won’t do; I’ll risk it all for you.”
This is what the Artemis II crew commemorated after the spaceship captured the stories of four astronauts, who paid tribute to a friend, yet, most importantly, to a lover.
On April 1, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the Artemis II mission, sending four astronauts to explore the Moon further over the next 10 days—ending their mission on April 10 at 8:07 Eastern Time (ET) with a planned splashdown off the San Diego Coast in California, USA.
The Artemis II crew revealed mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, as well as Pilot Victor Glover and Commander Reid Wiseman. Together, they became the first crew in history to feature the first woman, a Canadian, and a man of color as they travelled to the moon.
Yet beyond the “Moon-to-Mars” mission was unearthing new inventions, beauties, and historical storytelling. New lunar insights unfold as they travel through space in a carefully calibrated setting. And here’s what the mission unlocked.
Before the Takeoff
Before the rocket launched, NASA highlighted the reintroduction of the mission and its crew. First, the name behind the mission, Artemis, paid tribute to Greek Mythology—honoring the Greek goddess of the Moon, as well as recognizing it as the twin sister of Apollo: the name used in several foundational Moon explorations before it.
Alongside the historical name behind it, 8-year-old Lucas Ye created the first zero-gravity indicator called Rise. Koch expressed her amusement with the plush as she commented, "[Rise] was a design inspired by the Earthrise photo taken on Apollo 8, which is very special to our crew".
‘Lord I’m 500 Miles from My Home’
The Artemis II crew checked out photographs-turned-memorabilia from Earth to the moon. Commander Wiseman made a photo notorious after the photo of the Earth was captured, entitled “Hello, World,” mirroring the photograph of Apollo 17’s Blue Marble.
Yet the two most heart-wrenching memorabilia the Moon exploration has given go beyond plain discovery. The first one created a drag path for the previous astronauts who paved their way into a successful Moon expedition, as the crew carried heritage hardware from the late Challenger’s mission, thus making them still a part of the interstellar journey.
NASA, alongside his fellow crewmates, decided to name a newly discovered moon crater located at the same latitude as Ohm and northwest of Glushko in honor of Commander Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll Taylor Wiseman.
“The second one, and especially meaningful for this crew, is [that] 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 Reed, the mother of Katie and Ellie,” Jeremy Hansen announced as Wiseman met his tearful embrace.
“And if you want to find this one, you look at Glushko, and it's just to the northwest of that at the same latitude as Ohm. And 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 added.
Back on Earth
As the Artemis II crew successfully came back to Earth, NASA continued to redefine astrophysics with their “most powerful rocket yet,” as they engineered it through various modules. Their best one yet featured the Orion Crew Module; it is primarily made of Avcoat that acts as their shield towards high extreme temperatures during its re-entry stage towards the Earth’s atmosphere—almost half of the Sun’s. This keeps the crew safe from thermal combustion and acute radiation exposure, guaranteeing that the cabin's structural integrity is maintained even when the outside temperature rises to about 2,760°C.
In the end, Commander Wiseman and his team did more than simply visit the Moon and return; they made the Moon more relatable to us. They transformed a heavenly body into an amusement for future generations like little Lucas Ye, as well as a memorial for those we have lost.
The Artemis II serves as a reminder to NASA as it looks toward Mars that no matter how far we venture into space, Earth's warmth will always be with us. In the end, we explore to demonstrate to the people we care about that there is really nothing we won't do, not only to find new worlds.
So, try to catch a glimpse of the Moon's breathtaking crater the next time you happen to stumble upon the twinkling starry sky. Carroll, as well as the milestones reached by the crew, are real-life evidence that love can travel to the moon and back, not just an enigma.
Written by Kashley Andrea Gonzales, Insight PH
Kashley Andrea Gonzales, Insight PH is a dedicated campus journalist and contributor. Their insightful writing sparks meaningful conversations and keeps the community informed.
