Naming Craters

The Artemis II crew – (from left) Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Pilot Victor Glover, and Commander Reid Wiseman.

Artemis II has gone to the moon, around the moon for the first time ever, and came back safely. More than 50 years after humans last traveled to the lunar surface, the 10-day mission, designed to test systems for future lunar landings, has taken four astronauts farther from Earth than any crew since the Apollo era. Alongside its technical achievements, the mission has also drawn attention for something less expected: moments of faith, remembrance and a renewed sense of wonder at God’s creation. Those moments came into focus during a broadcast from orbit when the crew proposed naming two lunar craters. Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen explained that one would be called “Integrity” after their spacecraft. The second, he said, was “especially meaningful for this crew. We lost a loved one; her name was Carroll, and we would like to name one of the craters for her,” Hansen said, referring to the late wife of mission commander Reid Wiseman. Carroll Wiseman, a neonatal intensive care nurse, died in 2020 at the age of 46 following a five-year battle with cancer. The moment stood out among many during the mission, particularly in the story of Wiseman, who has described himself as “a very proud father” of his two teenage daughters, Ellie and Katherine.  Reid considers his time as an only parent as his greatest challenge and the most rewarding phase of his life. The naming proposal will ultimately be reviewed by the International Astronomical Union, which oversees official names for planetary features. Final approval for a feature usually takes about a month. 

But the idea of naming craters isn’t new. In 1651, Jesuit astronomer Giovanni Battista Riccioli, working with Francesco Grimaldi, published one of the first detailed lunar maps, giving names to craters and regions to people with a wide intellectual tradition, honoring scientists, philosophers and astronomers, including numerous Jesuits. More than 30 lunar craters bear Jesuit names, reflecting the order’s longstanding engagement with scientific discovery. If the name ‘Carroll’ is approved, it will join a lunar landscape shaped by centuries of Jesuit contributions.