The Leader of NASA’s Artemis II Mission Is Still Moonstruck
Reid Wiseman, the commander of NASA's Artemis II mission, reflects on the historic journey to the moon and back. The mission served as a test for future lunar endeavors, including a planned NASA base on the moon. Wiseman shares his experiences and the emotional challenges of being a single father during this significant time in his career.
- ▪Artemis II marked the first crewed mission to the moon in over fifty years.
- ▪Reid Wiseman was selected to command the mission, which included three other astronauts.
- ▪The mission involved writing a new manual for modern lunar exploration.
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The New Yorker InterviewThe Leader of NASA’s Artemis II Mission Is Still MoonstruckThe astronaut Reid Wiseman talks about going deeper into space than anyone in history, eating maple cookies in microgravity, and deciding how to spend his first day off after returning to Earth.By David W. BrownMay 24, 2026Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this storyLast month, for the first time in more than fifty years, four astronauts flew to the moon and back. Their mission, Artemis II, was a test run for future endeavors, including the construction of a NASA base on the lunar surface. Reid Wiseman, a former U.S. Naval aviator who served as the mission’s commander, told me that the journey made him think about the Apollo astronauts of the nineteen-sixties.
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