The Navy pilot leading humanity’s return to the Moon
Reid Wiseman is not just another astronaut. As commander of the Artemis II mission, this former F-14 pilot and NASA veteran is helming the first crewed voyage beyond Earth orbit since 1972, testing the very systems that will eventually land humans on the lunar surface.
A native of the Baltimore suburbs, Reid Wiseman’s path to the lunar far side was paved with military precision and engineering rigor. A U.S. Navy Captain and former F-14 pilot, Wiseman’s background includes service in Middle East operations like Iraqi Freedom. His academic credentials—a Bachelor of Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins University—mirror the technical lineage of the Apollo-era commanders.
Selected in 2009 as part of NASA’s 20th astronaut group, Wiseman’s career spans the transition from the Space Shuttle era to modern deep-space exploration. Before commanding Artemis II, he served as the chief of the Astronaut Office and previously spent over 165 days in space as a flight engineer for Expedition 41 in 2014. His leadership of the Artemis II crew—which includes Victor Glover, Jr., Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—is a vital test of the Orion spacecraft and the SLS rocket.
The mission itself serves as a high-stakes rehearsal. Unlike the Apollo 8 mission, which orbited the Moon ten times, Artemis II performed a sweeping loop, reaching a record distance of 406,771 km from Earth. The crew used the flight to evaluate life-support systems and practice docking maneuvers. During the mission, the crew even witnessed meteorite impacts on the lunar far side, marking a significant milestone in our ability to navigate the deep space environment.
Source: Meet Artemis II Astronaut Reid Wiseman
