Artemis astronauts at the outer edge of human space travel had an emotional moment as they proposed to name a crater in honor of the deceased wife of mission commander Reid Wiseman.
"It's a bright spot on the Moon. And we would like to call it Carroll," Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen told a live broadcast.
The crater can be seen "at certain times of the Moon's transit around Earth," he said.
As Mr Wiseman and others wiped away tears, the four astronauts pulled together in a silent, floating embrace.
The Artemis II crew dubbed another crater "Integrity," in honor of the name they have given their spacecraft.
A NASA spokesperson in Houston said the names proposed by the Artemis crew would be passed along to the International Astronomical Union, the body responsible for naming celestial bodies and features.
The four astronauts became the humans to travel furthest from Earth, as they prepared to view areas of the Moon never before seen by the naked eye as part of NASA's historic lunar flyby.
"We most importantly choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next, to make sure this record is not long-lived," Mr Hansen said.
Carroll Taylor Wiseman died of cancer in 2020, and Reid Wiseman, a former fighter pilot, has been raising their two daughters on his own since then.
The four astronauts embarking on NASA's lunar flyby have travelled the furthest from Earth than any other humans.
The Artemis II team broke the distance record set by the 1970 Apollo 13 mission, which they are expected to surpass by 6,606 kilometres when they reach this journey's anticipated furthest distance from Earth - 406,778 km - later today.
"For all humanity, you're pushing beyond that frontier," said Jenni Gibbons in Houston's mission control.
It was one of the voyage's most notable achievements yet.
Astronaut Jeremy Hansen said the moment was "to challenge this generation and the next, to make sure this record is not long-lived."
'Welcome to my old neighbourhood' - late astronaut's message played as Artemis nears lunar flyby
The astronauts began their landmark day with a message from the late Jim Lovell, who took part in the Apollo 8 and 13 missions and recorded the message shortly before his death.
"It's a historic day, and I know how busy you'll be, but don't forget to enjoy the view," the Artemis astronauts heard from Mr Lovell.
"Welcome to my old neighbourhood," he said.
"I'm proud to pass that torch on to you as you swing around the Moon," he added.
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Now the crew have the more than six-hour task of observing and documenting the lunar surface, bringing human perspective to features of the Moon that we primarily know through photographs taken by robots.
Victor Glover detailed the "terminator" - the Moon's boundary between night and day.
"Wow I wish I had some more time to just sit here and describe what I'm seeing," he said, before creating a vivid portrait for the scientists listening in from Earth.
Watch: Artemis astronauts on space dining
"But the terminator right now is just fantastic. It is the most rugged that I've seen it from a lighting perspective."
Kelsey Young, the lead scientist for the Artemis II mission, responded with elation. "Oh my gosh, that was an amazing picture you just painted," she said.
"Those types of observations are things that humans are uniquely able to contribute, and you just really brought us along with you."
Fellow astronaut Christina Koch meanwhile offered a colorful rendering of lunar craters.
"What it really looks like is like a lampshade with tiny pinprick holes and the light shining through," she said. "They are so bright compared to the rest of the Moon."
Expected comms loss
The lunar flyby observation period will continue until approximately 9:20pm eastern (2.20am Irish time).
It will include an approximately 40-minute period when the crew is expected to lose communication with mission control in Houston.
"It'll be exciting in a slightly scary way, when they go behind the Moon," Derek Buzasi, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago said.
Near the end of their flyby, the astronauts will witness a solar eclipse, when the Sun will be behind the Moon.
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The Orion capsule is zipping around the Moon - the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years - before U-turning and heading back to Earth in a so-called "free-return trajectory," a return-trip that will take about four days.
Adding to the historic nature of the mission led by Mr Wiseman, the Artemis II crew includes several firsts.
Mr Glover will be the first person of color to fly around the Moon, Ms Koch will be the first woman, and Canadian Hansen the first non-American.
