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Artemis II Crew Proposes Crater Names, Sets Distance Record During Lunar Mission

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Artemis II Crew Proposes Names for Lunar Craters on Record-Breaking Journey

The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission proposed names for two lunar craters during their return journey to Earth, following a lunar flyby on April 6, 2026. The crew also surpassed the previous record for the farthest distance traveled from Earth by humans. The proposed crater names require formal approval from the International Astronomical Union.

Mission Milestones and Crater Naming Proposal

The Artemis II mission, carrying Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, conducted a flyby of the moon. During this phase, the crew traveled over 248,655 miles from Earth, exceeding the distance record set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970.

A few hours before an expected communication blackout, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen communicated with mission control to propose names for two previously unnamed craters the crew had observed.

  • One crater was proposed to be named "Integrity," after the mission's Orion spacecraft.
  • A second crater was proposed to be named "Carroll," in remembrance of Carroll Taylor Wiseman, Commander Reid Wiseman's late wife, who died in 2020.

Commander Wiseman stated he was too emotional to make the request himself. He later described the moment as a significant personal experience of the mission.

Mission control, with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jenni Gibbons responding, acknowledged the proposal.

Details of the Proposed Craters

According to mission details and scientists on the ground:

  • The proposed Carroll crater is located near the boundary between the moon's near and far sides, northwest of Glushko crater. It is approximately 3 miles (5 kilometers) across, relatively shallow, and is occasionally visible from Earth.
  • The proposed Integrity crater is situated on the lunar far side, between Mare Orientale and the Ohm crater. It is reported to be slightly larger than the Carroll crater and is not visible from Earth.

Mission Control lead scientist Kelsey Young had worked with the crew before launch to identify suitable, bright craters. Commander Wiseman indicated the idea to propose the names originated with his crewmates during their pre-launch quarantine period.

Formal Approval Process

The proposed names are not yet official. NASA plans to formally submit the suggestions to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) upon the mission's completion. The IAU, based in Paris, is the internationally recognized authority for naming celestial bodies and their surface features.

  • The IAU's guidelines permit naming features after deceased individuals, provided the person has been deceased for at least three years.
  • An IAU representative stated that straightforward naming requests typically take about one month for a decision.
  • The IAU has officially approved 81 lunar features named by astronauts. A historical precedent is "Mount Marilyn," named informally during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968 and officially approved by the IAU in 2017.

Historical Context and Mission Status

The naming proposal recalls a similar event during the Apollo 8 mission, when astronaut Jim Lovell informally named a lunar peak "Mount Marilyn" after his wife.

The Artemis II crew are the first astronauts to travel to the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Following the lunar flyby, which used the moon's gravity to propel the Orion capsule back toward Earth, the spacecraft was scheduled for splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026.