Marble Pedestal: The faces behind Artemis II

Have you ever dreamt of being an astronaut? Then, this mission to return back to the moon after over 50 years may have spoken close to your heart. On April 1, NASA launched their Artemis II Mission, sending four astronauts to the moon — paving the way to Mars, unlocking mysteries, and inspiring new generations. 

Aside from the fascinating progress found in space, the people behind this journey each serve an individual purpose and carry with them distinct stories. They truly made a history, from representation of being the ‘firsts’ to the declaration of love in space.

They once dreamt of being astronauts, and now it is turning into a reality, inspiring generations that their dreams are not impossible to achieve. Take it one step at a time, and you’ll get to your destination eventually.

Reid Wiseman was a Navy veteran and has 16 years of astronaut expertise with six months of space experience. In this flight, he commanded Artemis II in the second flight to the Orion. But, beyond that he is also a loving father and a devoted husband. 

Along their journey, the team found fresh craters on the moon that haven’t been named yet. The astronauts have decided to name one lunar crater after their Commander Wiseman’s late wife — Carroll.

This shows pure love and devotion for his spouse. To look up to the night sky and witness how their love was honoured despite space, time, and everything in between. 

“Risk it All” by Bruno Mars is the perfect song for this genuine moment, with the lyrics “say you want the moon, watch me learn to fly.” To love someone to the moon and back, literally.

Christina Koch is the very first woman to travel to the moon. Make some noise! Before this historic moment, Koch set the record for the longest single space flight flown by a woman back in 2019 as she spent 328 days aboard in the International Space Station.

According to the BBC interview, her dream to become an astronaut began when she saw a moon photograph during her childhood. Ever since then, Koch spent her years learning and waiting for this moment, now it finally came!

To live in your childhood’s fantasy is truly an inspiration to the younger generations. Aside from that, this raises the purpose to break the gender stigmatization — encouraging that anyone can dream, and no stereotypes can ever stop you.

Jeremy Hansen is our Canadian pride, woohoo! He is the first non-American to travel to the moon, an international milestone indeed. Way before this lunar mission, Hansen was a former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot and after that, he became the first Canadian to train astronauts at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre.

Like most realities, everything starts with a single dream. His interest with space evolved in rural Canada where his wide imagination sparked: turning a simple treehouse into a fascinating spaceship!

As a father, he honours his family by taking his children and wife’s birthstones with him — carrying his love for them beyond the Earth. Also, our very own and proud Canadian astronaut carries maple syrup and maple cookies on this journey, the BBC interview mentioned.

Victor J. Glover flew this historic space flight and made this voyage to the moon possible! Glover is a former United States (U.S.) Navy fighter pilot and became an astronaut back in 2013 where he also served as a pilot on NASA’s SpaceX Crew 1 mission. And there’s more, he is the first person of colour to travel to the moon!

“Pushing ourselves to explore is core to who we are,” he said in a BBC interview. This serves as motivation to navigate and have a glimpse of the unknown. It encourages people to take a step forward into unraveling the beauty of their future, it might not be that scary after all.

Most times, we fear the unknown not necessarily because it’s difficult, but maybe it’s just unfamiliar. Glover’s universe escapade inspires us to explore the unknowns in this life. 

Like these four inspiring individuals, each one of you has a purpose too. Whether you are in space or here on Earth — you’re where you are at the right place and the right time. 

Shine on your own, and shimmer the way the stars sparkle at night. Some might say sky’s the limit, but there are footprints on the moon — so dream bigger, moon’s the limit!