The crew of Artemis II is heading back to Earth after a historic flyby of the moon — and NASA has released stunning images of the lunar surface along the way.
The four astronauts became the first humans in more than 50 years to travel near the moon, capturing rare views of its far side — a region never visible from Earth — and setting a new record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth.
See photos of the moon
New York ties to the mission
The commander of NASA’s Artemis II mission to the moon is a New York college graduate.
Reid Wiseman, 44, earned his undergraduate degree in science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, in 1997, and later received a Master of Science in Systems Engineering in his hometown of Baltimore, according to NASA. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009 and served as commander of NEEM021 at the Aquarius Reef Habitat off Islamorada, Florida, in July 2016.
On Monday, the Artemis crew shared an emotional moment as they named a crater they spotted from the Orion capsule after Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll Wiseman, who passed away at 46 after a five-year battle with cancer on May 17, 2020.
“We would like to call it Carroll,” said mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, his voice cracking as Wiseman patted his shoulder and wiped away tears.
“A number of years ago we started this journey, and in our close-knit astronaut family we lost a loved one,” Hansen told Mission Control in Houston, adding that the crater “is in a really neat place on the moon.”
What’s next
The astronauts are now on a dayslong journey back to Earth. NASA expects the Orion capsule to make a water landing in the Pacific Ocean later this week, where recovery crews will retrieve the spacecraft and crew.
Contributing: USA Today Network
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: See stunning Artemis II photos from near the moon
Reporting by Madison Scott, New York Connect Team / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
