In April 2023, in Houston, before a gathering of nearly every NASA astronaut, Reid Wiseman was chosen to lead Artemis 2, the first crewed journey around the moon since Apollo's lunar work ended in 1972. A man whose boyhood wonder at the Challenger loss pulled him toward the stars, and whose path ran through carrier decks and test flights before the station, now stands at the threshold of returning people to the lunar neighborhood. His crew carries the lessons of long orbital living toward a larger horizon, where the moon is a rehearsal for Mars.
Reid Wiseman, Naval Aviator and Station Veteran, Will Command Artemis 2 Around the Moon
Ten years between flights, and now the first crew around the moon since Apollo
Mark
Why does it matter that Wiseman, specifically, is commander?
Mimi
His résumé covers the ground this job needs: carrier landings, test piloting, 165 days on the station, two spacewalks, and two years as chief astronaut.
Mark
He's been quoted on nerves. What's that about?
Mimi
He said he was nervous for the crew announcement and expects to be nervous for the mission. He treats it as adrenaline that, managed, sharpens focus.
Luke
Worth noting that's his own account of how he handles it. The piece doesn't test it against anything.
Mark
What about the ten years between flights?
Mimi
Smaller crews on the station mean fewer seats, so long waits are common. He spent the time commanding NEEMO 21 underwater and in leadership roles at the astronaut office.
Luke
And the November 2024 date is a schedule, not a guarantee. The article says the mission is scheduled, nothing more.
Mark
How does he frame the point of going?
Mimi
He says the goal is Mars. The moon, and the experience from the ISS, feed into settlements on both.
Luke
That's his stated rationale. The article doesn't say whether any Mars plan is actually funded or dated.
Le Pouls
- NASA has named Reid Wiseman commander of Artemis 2, a crewed round-the-moon flight targeted for November 2024, the first human lunar mission since Apollo.
- The mission has been scheduled to test the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, so every system must prove itself before anyone trusts it with a crew.
- Wiseman admits to nerves at the announcement and expects them through the mission, treating that adrenaline as fuel to be managed.
- Wiseman and his crewmates Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are preparing for a ten-day flight, with the crew already appearing publicly to explain why humanity returns to the moon.
In April 2023, in Houston, before a gathering of nearly every NASA astronaut, Reid Wiseman was chosen to lead Artemis 2, the first crewed journey around the moon since Apollo's lunar work ended in 1972. A man whose boyhood wonder at the Challenger loss pulled him toward the stars, and whose path ran through carrier decks and test flights before the station, now stands at the threshold of returning people to the lunar neighborhood. His crew carries the lessons of long orbital living toward a larger horizon, where the moon is a rehearsal for Mars.
On April 3, 2023, in a crowded ceremony in Houston, Reid Wiseman was named commander of Artemis 2. He will lead a crew of four on a ten-day flight around the moon, scheduled for November 2024, the first human journey to the moon since Apollo's lunar missions ended in December 1972. His crewmates are Victor Glover and Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.
Wiseman's road to this moment began in Baltimore, where the Challenger disaster struck him at age eleven and led him to beg his parents to take him to Kennedy Space Center. He trained as a naval aviator, flew the F-18 Super Hornet and the Tomcat, and worked as a test pilot before NASA selected him in 2009. His first flight, Expeditions 40 and 41 aboard the International Space Station in 2014, gave him 165 days in orbit, two spacewalks, and two close friends in his crewmates there.
Since then he has led NEEMO 21 underwater, risen to chief astronaut, and grieved the death of his wife, Carroll Taylor, in 2020, while raising two children. Now he says the crew carries the torch from the station and that Artemis 2 is about proving the rocket and capsule are ready, with Mars as the longer aim.
On April 3, 2023, in a large ceremony in Houston attended by nearly the entire NASA astronaut corps, Reid Wiseman was named commander of Artemis 2. He will lead a crew of four on a 10-day flight around the moon, scheduled for November 2024. It will be the first human mission to the moon since the Apollo program ended its lunar excursions in December 1972.
His crewmates are NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. It will be Wiseman's second spaceflight. His first was Expedition 41 to the International Space Station, which ran between May and November of 2014 and gave him 165 days in space.
Wiseman was born in Baltimore and graduated from Dulaney High School in 1993. He earned a bachelor's degree in computer and systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1997, then added a master's in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a space systems certificate from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. He has said space was on his mind early. The Challenger disaster, which killed seven astronauts, left a deep mark on him at age 11, and he made his parents take him to Kennedy Space Center to look around.
Aviation came first. After graduating in 1997 he was commissioned as a reserve officer and went to Pensacola, Florida, for flight training. He became a naval aviator in 1999 and flew the Tomcat with Fighter Squadron 101 in Virginia. He deployed twice to the Middle East with Fighter Squadron Oceana, supporting Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in June 2004, he worked as a test pilot and project officer at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland, on programs including the F-35 Lightning II, F-18 weapons separation, Ship Suitability and the T-45 Goshawk. Later assignments included Carrier Air Wing Seventeen, as Strike Operations Officer, and Strike Fighter Squadron 103 in Virginia, flying the FA-18F Super Hornet.
He was at sea when he learned he had been selected for the 2009 astronaut class. Training began at Johnson Space Center in August 2009 and finished in May 2011. His flight came quickly: Expeditions 40 and 41, from May 29 to Nov. 9, 2014, alongside Maxim Suraev of Roscosmos and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, both of whom he calls two of his best friends. The crew completed what was then a record number of science experiments. Wiseman made two spacewalks. The first, with Gerst, stowed a failed coolant pump and provided backup power for the mobile transporter that moves the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm. The second, with NASA's Butch Wilmore, replaced a failed power regulator. In a 2015 talk at Google, he joked that he set a record for weight gain in space, blaming chocolate pudding cake and saying he had to buy new pants.
The gap between his flights is about ten years. ISS vehicles carry three or four people, against roughly seven on the shuttle, so fewer astronauts fly and the waits are longer. Wiseman stayed busy on the ground. He commanded the underwater NEEMO 21 mission in 2017 and became deputy chief of the astronaut office that year. In 2020 he was promoted to chief astronaut, a post he held for two years; chief astronauts do not fly, because they handle crew assignments.
His personal life has had loss as well. He has two children, and his wife, Carroll Taylor, died of cancer in 2020.
Two days after the announcement, the crew appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Asked why return to the moon, Wiseman said NASA wants to see humans on Mars, and argued that long-duration experience on the ISS will help build permanent settlements on both the moon and Mars. In an interview hours after his naming, he said he had been nervous for the announcement and expected to be nervous for the mission too, calling that adrenaline useful if managed. He said the crew sees itself as carrying the torch from ISS crews, and that Artemis 2 is about checking out the Space Launch System and Orion to make sure they are ready.
Citations marquantes
We want to see humans on Mars.— Reid Wiseman, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Nervousness and adrenaline, if managed, allow you to focus.— Reid Wiseman, paraphrased from April 3, 2023 interview
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