Viktor Glover Makes History as Pilot Manned Mission to Moon Since 1972
Written By Dayshaun Powe
Photos By Weston Hook
Science & Technology
At 6:35 p.m. on April 1, 2026, the Artemis II rocket launched. The intention of the mission was to fly around the dark side of the moon and take pictures of parts of the moon humanity had never seen before. It was the first time humans have gone to the moon since the 1970s. The crew of this vessel consisted of Commander Reid Weisman, the Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.
Glover was born on April 30, 1976 in Pomona, California. Early in his life, Glover stated he had an interest in space exploration. In an interview with NASA prior to the mission, Glover cited the Challenger explosion as one of his key inspirations that fueled his desire to go to space, as it not only showed him at a young age how dangerous going beyond the planet was, but also how much of a necessity it was. As the years went on, Glover said he could not see himself going to college on the basis of academics, and that he felt he was not on the same level as the other science and engineering big-wigs.
Despite this, Glover attended California Polytechnic State University beginning in 1994 on a wrestling scholarship for a Bachelor of Science degree in general engineering. While earning his degree, he also joined the navy. Following his graduation he was made an ensign and was officially named a navy pilot in 2001. He served a few more years, even participating in active duty missions in Iraq. In 2007, he was named an official Air Force test pilot, while also earning his test pilot engineering degree. He also earned a systems engineering degree and a military operations arts and science degree.
After a few more years in service, Glover was designated a legislative fellow in 2012. In 2013, he was chosen to be a part of NASA’s twenty-first astronaut class. After completing his astronaut training in 2015, Glover would help with many more missions related to space exploration and would even leave Earth’s orbit to visit the International Space Station in 2020 as a part of the SpaceX Crew-1 Mission, where he spent 168 days aboard the vessel.
Just weeks ago, Glover safely returned to Earth, landing off the coast of San Diego along with his Artemis II crewmates. He went to the moon and back to League City, Texas to be with his wife, Dionna Glover, and their four children.
When reflecting on earth during an interview while aboard the Orion, Glover said, “You have this oasis, this beautiful place to exist together.”