Reid Wiseman

Gregory Reid Wiseman, born on November 11, 1975, is an American naval aviator and a NASA astronaut. He became well-known for leading the 2026 Artemis II mission, which flew around the Moon. This mission was important because it was the first time people had traveled around the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Wiseman was chosen to become a NASA astronaut in 2009. Before that, he worked as a fighter pilot and test pilot for the U.S. Navy. In 2014, he visited the International Space Station as part of Expedition 40 and Expedition 41.

On April 1, 2026, Wiseman launched on the Artemis II mission. He was the first person to lead a lunar mission since Gene Cernan on Apollo 17, and at age 50, he was the oldest person to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Together with his crew, Wiseman and his teammates became some of the farthest travelers from Earth.

Early life and education

Gregory Reid Wiseman was born on November 11, 1975, in Baltimore, Maryland. His father worked for the government in Baltimore County, and his mother worked as an administrative assistant.

Wiseman grew up in the Springdale neighborhood of Cockeysville. He went to Dulaney High School, where he played golf and joined the drumline. After graduating in 1993, he studied computer and systems engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, earning his bachelor's degree in 1997. He later got a master's degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 2006.

Navy career

Gregory Reid Wiseman began his career in the Navy after finishing school in 1997. He went to Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida for flight training and became a Naval Aviator in 1999. He then joined Fighter Squadron 101 at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia to learn to fly the F-14 Tomcat.

Wiseman served in the Middle East for two deployments supporting important operations. In 2003, he was chosen to attend the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Maryland. After graduating, he worked as a Test Pilot and project officer, testing different airplanes like the F-35C Lightning II and F/A-18 Hornet. He later served with Carrier Air Wing Seventeen and flew the F/A-18F Super Hornet before being selected for astronaut training. During his Navy service, Wiseman received several medals for his work.

NASA career

On June 29, 2009, NASA chose Reid Wiseman to start training as an astronaut. He was one of nine people chosen from over 3,500 applicants. At that time, he was a pilot in the U.S. Navy. He said that seeing a Space Shuttle launch in 2001 made him want to become an astronaut.

Wiseman was part of the crew on the International Space Station from May to November 2014. He helped the crew during his six‑month stay in space.

In 2016, Wiseman took part in a special underwater mission for NASA.

Wiseman became the leader of the Astronaut Office on December 18, 2020, and left that role on November 14, 2022.

On April 3, 2023, Wiseman was chosen to lead the Artemis II mission, which flew in early April 2026. He was joined by astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman launched on April 1, 2026. As the mission leader, he made sure everyone was safe and the mission went well. The crew traveled farther from Earth than any humans before. During the mission, Wiseman took a famous picture called Hello, World and filmed Earth from behind the Moon.

Personal life

Reid Wiseman was married to Carroll Taylor Wiseman, who was a nurse. Sadly, she passed away from cancer in 2020. They had two daughters together. During the Artemis II mission on April 6, 2026, his fellow astronaut Jeremy Hansen asked to name a newly discovered crater on the Moon "Carroll" in honor of Wiseman's late wife.