Artemis Two Crew Proposes Moon Crater Names

0:00It's April 8th. You're listening to Canada News today, AI Power at Local News. I'm Corey, with the story. Artemis II. Crew just dropped a heartfelt move from Lunar Orbit, proposing names for two fresh moon craters. Commander Reed Weisman and his team want one called integrity after their capsule, and the other Carol for Weisman's late wife, a neonatal nurse, who passed from cancer in 2020. Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hanson made the call right before their Monday flyby, since Weisman was too choked up to speak. This nods back to Apollo 8 in 1968, when Jim Lovell named a lunar peak Mount Maryland for his wife, waiting in Houston. Artemis II marks the first moon trip since Apollo 17 in 1972, with these three Americans and one Canadian spotting the craters, up close through lenses and naked eyes. NASA prepped them quietly on the picks, Carol's about three miles wide on the moon's edge, sometimes visible from Earth, while integrity's bigger on, the far side.

1:01Mission control went dead silent for almost a minute, then confirmed loud and clear. Ground teams had tears, with NASA scientists Ryan Watkins calling it a raw emotional peak, no dry eyes in the room. Let scientists Kelsey Young help scout the bright young spots pre-launch. The crew broke Apollo 13's deep space distance record just before, leading to hugs and tears all around. Hanson's voice cracked, radioing the tribute to Carol, as mom to Katie and Ellie. Names now head to the International Astronomical Union for approval, like Mount Maryland's half-century weight till 2017. Those today's space fares, embracing the human side, way beyond Apollo's all-business vibe.