NASA’s Artemis II mission made history as the furthest any group of humans has ever ventured from the Earth — the spaceflight reached approximately 252,756 miles from our big blue orb around the Moon. As many did around the country and world, I watched intently as Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen completed the first human lunar mission in over 50 years.

The funny thing about being an astronaut is just how dang qualified you have to be. It sounds obvious, but it really is the smartest, most rigorously trained minds that get to go to space. So, which of Penn State’s brightest would PASA (Pennsylvania Aeronautics and Space Administration) send on our own lunar mission?

Commander – Gabe Nwosu

Is there anybody else that you’d trust with the lives of a PASA crew? Gabe Nwosu has shown time and time again that he’s simply that guy. He just exudes aura.

Not only is Nwosu one of the best at what he does (finishing No. 21 in the nation in yards per punt with a minimum of 10 punts in 2025), but he’s also incredibly consistent, even in the face of adversity. Whether the mission is going awry or perfectly to plan, Nwosu will be there to keep a calm head and find a path forward.

Wiseman might have a master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins and a decorated U.S. Navy career, but is he an All-Big Ten Third Team punter? I rest my case.

Pilot – A.J. Harris

While A.J. Harris no longer plays for Penn State football, choosing to leave for the greener (and more successful) pastures of Bloomington, Indiana, he still played two solid seasons at cornerback the last two seasons. However, the Hoosiers mark Harris’ third stop in his collegiate career. His prior destination? Georgia.

Harris spent his freshman season appearing in seven games for the Bulldogs down in Athens. While Harris narrowly missed out on Georgia’s back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023, he still spent enough time to know what a winning program looks and feels like. Georgia is a great football program. There’s no denying that.

But what does Georgia, and especially its football players, do better than any other team in the nation? Drive. And I’m not talking the golf kind. I want A.J. Harris piloting my spacecraft every single day of the week.

Mission Specialists – Lisa Salters & Guy Gadowsky

Koch set records even before Artemis II. She holds the record for longest spaceflight by a woman on the International Space Station, calling it home from March 2019 to February 2020. There are many women in Penn State’s history who are some of the top minds in their field, but Lisa Salters reigns supreme in the journalism sphere.

Salters has covered the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup, O.J. Simpson’s trial, and is the sideline reporter on Monday Night Football. She’s seen it all and has traveled to all the different parts of the world. She’d be a fine addition to a Penn State space crew for her vast experience with people from all walks of life.

Her mission specialist partner? Guy Gadowsky. Hansen joined the Artemis II mission as the Canadian Space Agency’s representative. Gadowksy is Canadian. Send him up there.

Who NOT To Send – Chaz Coleman

The University of Tennessee is 524 miles away from Warren, Ohio. The moon is… further than that.