Baltimore County native Reid Wiseman set for moon mission aboard Artemis II
After years of preparing, NASA astronaut and Baltimore County native Reid Wiseman will take a trip around the moon.
The Artemis II astronauts are set to launch on Wednesday, April 1, for a nine-day mission. The mission could pave the way for planned moon landings in 2028 and the construction of a lunar base near the moon's south pole.
Wiseman, a naval aviator, is the Mission's Commander. He will be joined by astronaut Christina Koch, pilot Victor Glover, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
The crew was originally supposed to launch in February, but work to fix hydrogen fuel leaks and trouble pressurizing the rocket's upper stage propulsion system delayed the liftoff.
The last human moon landing was Apollo 17 in December 1972.
What to know about Reid Wiseman
Wiseman, 50, was selected to join NASA's astronaut corps in 2009.
He was raised in Baltimore County and graduated from Dulaney High School in Timonium in 1993.
He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Computer and Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, before earning his Master's degree in Systems Engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Wiseman is a 27-year Navy veteran. He became a naval aviator in 1999, completed several aircraft carrier deployments, and was selected to attend the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, where he flew F-35 and F-18 fighter jets.
In June 2009, Wiseman was picked as one of nine members of the 20th NASA astronaut class. He reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 2009 and finished astronaut training in May 2011.
Wiseman's space expedition started in 2014, when he was a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station for Expedition 41, a mission that lasted 165 days.
He also served as chief of the Astronaut Office from December 2020 until November 2022, according to NASA.
Wiseman is a father of two, and his wife, Carroll, died of cancer in 2020. Wiseman's father still lives in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
"When she really started getting sick, I wanted to move us back towards where her family was from," Wiseman told CBS News in an interview. "And she's like, 'No, this is where you work. This is the job you love. This is where you work, and this is where our kids are growing up, and we are going to stay right here.' To me, that was marching orders ... to continue down this path."
Wiseman told CBS News that his children would "rather I not go," but they understand the unique opportunity.
"You know, the parents have to live their dreams just like the kids have to live their dreams," Wiseman said.
Wiseman's previous interview with CBS Baltimore
Wiseman spoke with CBS News Baltimore in 2023, after he was named Mission Commander for the Artemis II voyage.
He said that he continues to inspire the youth to follow their dreams during occasional visits to his high school alma mater.
"Life may throw you some curve balls, and you've got to be ready for that, but just take them, and usually those are gifts," Wiseman told CBS News Baltimore in 2023. "When you think something is going off track, that's usually when you can wake up and take a really neat path in life."
