Artemis II crew proposes names for two lunar craters

During their closest approach on April 6, the Artemis II crew announced proposed names for two previously unnamed lunar craters: "Carroll" to honor Commander Wiseman's late wife and "Integrity" for their spacecraft.

Artemis II flew around the lunar far side on April 6 during the mission's closest approach to the moon. A few hours before Orion's scheduled communication blackout, the crew said they had seen two previously unnamed craters and would like to propose names for them. The astronauts proposed calling one crater Carroll to honor Commander Andrews Wiseman's late wife, Carroll Taylor Wiseman, and a second crater Integrity to honor their spacecraft. The announcement was followed by visible emotion in the spacecraft as the four crew members embraced. Noted details: - The crew consists of Commander Andrews Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch. - The proposed name Carroll was announced as a tribute to Carroll Taylor Wiseman, who died of cancer in 2020 at age 46 and was the mother of Wiseman's two daughters, Katie and Ellie. - The Carroll feature is reported near the boundary between the moon's near side and far side, just northwest of Glushko crater. - The crew also proposed naming a far-side feature Integrity in honor of their Orion spacecraft; that feature was described as between Mare Orientale and Ohm crater. - The spacecraft was expected to lose radio contact with mission control for about 40 to 50 minutes as it passed behind the moon. - The mission's Orion spacecraft is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10. Summary: The naming proposals were presented as personal and symbolic gestures during the mission and prompted an emotional reaction from the crew. Any formal recognition of those names by an official naming body is undetermined at this time. The mission continues toward its planned splashdown on April 10.