The astounding view — the sun behind the moon, the moon just a black sphere pulling the spacecraft around it — was beyond the power of words to convey.
Source: Library of Congress
Posted By Mark Hartsell
Photos: Courtesy
Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman looking back at Earth as the crew traveled toward the moon. Photo: NASA.
Reid Wiseman sat onstage at the National Book Festival, still marveling at the journey that brought him there.
As commander of NASA’s Artemis II mission in April, Wiseman led humanity’s first crewed voyage beyond low Earth orbit in 53 years — a nearly 10-day journey that looped around the moon and back. The deepest moments came on the far side of the moon.
“The moon is blocking our view of Earth. We can’t talk to home,” Wiseman said. “This was an amazing magical period for us, where we were truly alone in the solar system. We were further away than any human had ever been.”
The astounding view — the sun behind the moon, the moon just a black sphere pulling the spacecraft around it — was beyond the power of words to convey. “I don’t think the human mind has evolved to the point of describing what we’re looking at,” he said.
At the furthest point, the crew celebrated with maple cookies, shared a tearful group hug over a crater named for Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll, and heard a posthumous recorded greeting from Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell: “Welcome to the neighborhood.”
Reid Wiseman, commander of NASA’s Artemis II mission, speaking at the National Book Festival. Photo: Shawn Miller.
And then the return home, traveling about 24,000 mph during reentry. “We’re falling straight down,” he recalled as the scene played on the main stage’s huge screens. “It was not scary inside, but it’s terrifying watching this video of what we looked like from the outside.”
Parachutes brought the spacecraft to a safe ocean landing, concluding the mission with a joyful splash. “All I’ve ever wanted to do was go see the far side. All I ever want to do is go as far away as I can,” he said.
His mission completed, Wiseman offered advice to the next generation: “For the kids, if you ever get the chance to do this, just do it.”
Wiseman came away with an enormous sense of pride in the collective accomplishment. “If you grew up in this country, if you’re an American, you should just be so dang proud of what this country could do if we tried,” he said. “This is an amazing place to live.”
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