Astronaut Reid Wiseman honored as "inspiration" at Baltimore County Council meeting

Baltimore County native Reid Wiseman, who led the Artemis II space crew around the moon in April, appeared virtually in the county council chambers on Monday, recognized as a hero and an inspiration.

The council honored Wiseman nearly two months after the crew's 10-day voyage past the moon. The four-person Artemis II crew set the record for the furthest human distance from the Earth.

The last human moon landing was Apollo 17 in December 1972.

The Artemis II crew was assigned in 2023, with Wiseman named as the commander. He was joined by astronaut Christina Koch, pilot Victor Glover, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. 

"I want to thank you for what you have done for this great nation, and I want to remind you that coming from Baltimore County Public Schools, you are truly an inspiration to the 110,000 students that we have here," Baltimore County Councilman Julian Jones said. "Every kid from this day forward who comes to Baltimore County Public Schools knows that they can reach tremendous heights, such as yourself."

Wiseman grew up in Cockeysville, Maryland, and graduated from Dulaney High School in 1993. He is a long-time Navy veteran and a naval aviator.

He was selected to NASA's astronaut program in 2009, which ultimately led to his mission around the moon.

"The really important thing for me on this mission was to try to connect with all of humanity on Earth," Wiseman said. "Our mission is Artemis II, but on our patch, we made it look like 'ALL,' Artemis II, because we really wanted to go for all and by all."

Wiseman's father, Bill Wiseman, was in the Baltimore County Council chambers as he was being acknowledged.

A local inspiration

Wiseman said the Artemis II mission was bigger than the crew in the spacecraft. He wanted to inspire the future generation and to be a trailblazer for others.

"Every one of our kids who walks out at night and looks at the moon knows that people have been out there," Wiseman said. "I think that is extremely powerful because that creates a whole generation of dreamers."

Wiseman, whose wife died of cancer in 2020, said he spoke with his two daughters through video chat on the seventh day of the mission. He said that was when his children realized how major this trip was for him and his team.

"That was the first time they realized how important this was and that it was worth the risk," Wiseman said. "They really saw how important this mission was for the whole world. The world needed something to cheer for and something to prove we can all come together."

Paving the way for a moon landing

Wiseman said the Artemis II mission was a test for future flights to the moon. Astronauts flew around the moon in 1968, and landed on the moon in 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1972.

"Really, it was a test mission to get us back in the game of expanding human civilization out on the lunar surface," he said.

Then, one day, he hopes to see a crew land on the planet Mars.

"One day to Mars, hopefully sooner rather than later, but we have been talking about Mars for 50 years and we still haven't gotten humans out there," Wiseman said. "It is hard."