You're Happy-Crying Over The Artemis II Mission This Week, Too, Right?

You may be tired, stressed at work, and annoyed that your situationship isn’t texting back (again), but up in space there’s an astronaut naming a crater after his wife. And now everybody’s crying!

There have been several tear-jerking moments from NASA’s historic Artemis II mission on Orion, the first crewed craft designed to fly four astronauts to the moon in a 10-day test flight. It holds commander Reid Wiseman (NASA), pilot Victor Glover (NASA), mission specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch (NASA), and mission specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency).

In a radio report back to mission control on April 6, Hansen shared that they wanted to “honor their mission by naming two craters on the moon.” One would be dedicated to Wiseman’s wife, Carroll Wiseman, who died of cancer in 2020 at the age of 46. He described the crater as "a bright spot on the moon” and spelled out her name as his voice cracked. They all hugged, and suddenly the internet believed in love again — which was much needed after these past few weeks online.

The sweet moment was caught on the craft’s live stream, and immediately went viral. On TikTok, several outlets shared it, including BBC News. In their comments, one person said, “He chased her to the stars and found her in the moon.” Another wrote, “Apparently, the mission objective is to emotionally wreck us all.” Under ABC’s post, someone said, “Dear NASA, today’s video was blurry.” And when PBS shared the story, a commenter wrote, “Going to ask my husband where my crater is at...”

Loved To The Moon & Back

Not only is this story out-of-this-world adorable, it’s also a perfect example of collective effervescence — aka the spike of emotion that occurs when you experience something meaningful alongside others. You might feel this at concerts or during the Olympics, so if the crater story had you wiping away tears too, this could be one reason why.

On the app, @gilli.reads sobbed as she said, “He’s immortalized her. She will be in every history book. I’m still crying every time I think about it. Love is real.” In her comments, someone said, “No, because it is that serious.”

After seeing the clip, @mariellekraft wrote a song for Carroll, complete with acoustic guitar, while others reveled in how meaningful the mission is as a whole, like @young.muppet who said, “Being in the luteal phase and watching the Artemis II moon flyby is a brutal combo.”

She went on to say, “Like what do you MEAN they flew farther from earth than humans have ever gone, named a bright crater on the moon in honor of one astronaut’s late wife, and they all got emotional so they had a big space group hug ... I was fully crying at work.”

GRWM To Go To Space

The Artemis II mission has had other awe-inspiring moments that showed just how human we all are, like when Koch radioed down to ask where her favorite hand lotion had been packed on the craft. Turns out, she was looking for a product from Jessica Alba’s brand, Honest.

The actor and entrepreneur heard about the call and in an emotional TikTok said, “Anyone out there who has any dreams of anything, just go after it. You never know! Your products can be in space!”

The Crew’s Viral Wake-Up Calls

To wake up the crew members on April 4, flight controllers blasted Chappell Roan’s 2023 hit song “Pink Pony Club,” which played through speakers to alert the astronauts that it was morning. The moment was magical, even if the broadcast did cut out a minute in. On the live stream, Wiseman quipped, “We were all early awaiting the chorus,” as so many people do.

When @people shared a clip of the song being played thousands of miles away from earth, one commenter said, “Pink Pony Club is about leaving home to pursue your dreams, so i can see why.” Another wrote, “Chappell Roan is officially out of this world.”

Otherworldly Vlogs

In another viral TikTok with two million likes, @user18060818 shared footage of the crew giving a group thumbs up as they reacted to their view of the moon. It was a cute moment aboard Orion, and one that clearly resonated with everyone back on earth.

A different clip showed Wiseman making heart hands and pointing to his friendship bracelets from his daughters, Ellie and Katherine, to which ground control replied, “Copy heart hands. Copy bracelet.” *watery eyes emoji*

Many fun moments have also gone viral showing the astronaut’s life in space as they circle the moon. CNN shared a clip of Koch showing the crew’s shrimp cocktail dinner, along with some other snacks they had to rehydrate in space. One TikTok user said, “I love that they’re vlogging.”

Following the lunar flyby and the naming of the crater, the Artemis II mission is in its last few days before Orion touches back down on April 10. The trip set a record for the furthest human space flight, at 252,756 miles, and made everyone feel connected in the process. These viral moments have helped viewers everywhere remember just how big the universe is and how small their daily complaints can feel when they take a second to look at things from a different perspective.