The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis II mission have continued a long-standing spaceflight tradition by naming small lunar features after loved ones and personal heroes. The crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—selected names for craters and other landmarks along the path of their upcoming flight around the Moon.
Commander Reid Wiseman named a crater "Rigel," after his childhood pet. Pilot Victor Glover selected "Cajun" to honor his roots and the people of Louisiana. Mission Specialist Christina Koch chose "Ranger" to recognize the work of the NASA Ranger program and her former professor. Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen named a feature "Serenity" for his wife.
The practice of naming lunar features dates back to the Apollo missions. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is the official body for naming celestial bodies and features, but it allows astronauts on historic missions to assign informal names for operational and navigational purposes. These names are used in mission communications and documentation.
The Artemis II mission, scheduled for no earlier than September 2025, will be the first crewed flight of NASA's program to return humans to the lunar surface. The 10-day mission will test the Orion spacecraft's systems with astronauts aboard during a journey around the Moon and back to Earth.
