On Monday, April 6, members from Artemis II named a crater that they spotted from the Orion capsule, Carroll; little did we know the emotional significance behind this name.
The crew members of Artemis II took off on another moon mission far from home. During this mission, they made history, setting the record for flying beyond the lunar surface, nearly 252,752 miles from home. This was a record set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970, finally broken 66 years later.
The crew members making this mission included NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen. As the four members flew record-breaking distances, aware of the fact that they were making history, something a little more personal connected them back to Earth.
Reid Wiseman, the Artemis II commander, is a single father of two daughters. His late wife, Carroll Wiseman, sadly died of cancer in 2020 at the age of 46.
The married life of Carroll Wiseman and Reid Wiseman was kept more private. However, it was very clear that they shared a deep connection. Carroll Wiseman was a very supportive figure during a point in Reid Wiseman’s life where he was frequently away from the home because of intense training and she managed her own career while supporting Reid’s.
In fact, when Mrs. Wiseman first got sick, Reid Wiseman wanted to leave Texas, leave his job at the Johnson Space Center and move closer to their family in Virginia and Maryland. However, Carroll Reid showed her support even in illness.
“No, this is where you work and you love your job,” she stated. “And we should not give that up for this.”
Reid Wiseman had this tremendous supporting figure backing him to the point that even when he was far from home and even farther from his support, he and his crewmates could only think about Carroll Wiseman.
This begs the question – where would we be without those who support us?
I think when we accomplish big feats we often forget it’s not only our efforts that went into the accomplishment but those people who will always be to your right and left urging you to never give up.
There have been countless occasions where my mom, teachers, or friends have given me the propulsion I needed to accomplish a big task. At other times, however, I just need someone to remind me why I shouldn’t ever stop caring. But, when I’ve achieved the big task, reached my goal and am standing feeling accomplished, I forget to thank those who’ve been supporting me the whole way through.
Personally, I owe a big thank you to all those in my life and I think maybe you do, too.
David Begnaud hosts a podcast called, The Person Who Believed In Me, where he sits down with famous figureheads and asks them, “Who believed in you before the world did?”
This simple question is what it all boils down to. If someone hadn’t believed in you, would we even reach a point where the world did? It was impossible for us to reach the places we did without the hard work that we put in behind the scenes – no amount of support can propel you without your own work – but it’s easy to lose your way and begin to doubt yourself, which is where a support system of any form is of utmost necessity.
We may not all be able to go to the moon and dedicate a special crater on the moon to our loved ones. But, if there’s one thing Carroll and Artemis II have taught us it’s that even the smallest support can help us accomplish the impossible.
Finally, to my support system: I just want to say, thank you.
