NASA is gearing up for a return to the moon after more than 50 years. And this time, one Black astronaut will be the man piloting in historic Artemis II mission.
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Victor Glover Jr. and three other astronauts– Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen– will launch into space tonight (April 1) at 6:24 p.m. ET from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. According to reports, their ten-day journey to the moon and back will mark the first time since 1972 that Americans have successfully traveled to the moon.
His father, Victor Glover Sr. spoke to CNN detailing the extensive preparation Glover Jr. took in order to make it this far. “He’s been working hard along with the rest of the crew the last three years getting ready for this,” the proud dad said. “Now, it’s really here.”
But while Glover is set to make history, his journey to NASA began when he was a little kid. According to his father, “He was always very inquisitive, even at a young age– always asking a lot of questions and always wondering simple things like ‘How does this work? What makes it work?’”
After graduating from Ontario High School in 1994, Glover went on to earn his Bachelor of Science in engineering from California Polytechnic State University, according to his NASA bio. He also picked up three masters degrees along the way.
“When he got to college, the seed ended up being planted about actually becoming an astronaut,” Glover Sr. added. His son was eventually selected to be a NASA astronaut in 2013, with his first trip to space going down seven years later in 2020. He piloted the SpaceX Crew-1 Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, once again breaking history as the first Black astronaut to finish such a stay– notably 168 days– aboard the station.
Now, he’s gearing up to make history once more for the Artemis II mission. Back in 1969, the world watched the Apollo mission live, as white astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon dressed in white spacesuits with tiny American flags on it. The country celebrated the historic feat, but an overall lack of racial representation in the mission to the moon has always haunted them… Until now.
The other members onboard will also make history with the spacecraft’s launch. Koch will be the first woman to ever make the journey, and Hansen who is a Canadian national will be the first non-American to launch into the Moon’s orbit, according Cal Poly News .
NASA originally planned the launch for 2023, but delays and repairs pushed the launch back to this year. Unlike the Apollo, however, Glover and his team will not land on the moon’s surface.
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