In a historic leap for space exploration and representation, NASA is officially launching the Artemis II mission on April 1. And Victor Glover, a U.S. Navy captain and veteran astronaut who is poised to become the first Black person to travel to the Moon.
As reported by TheGrio, the 10-day mission marks the first time humans have ventured beyond low Earth orbit since the conclusion of the Apollo program in 1972.
Glover’s path to the Moon is defined by a career of firsts and excellence.
A native of Pomona, California, Glover graduated from California Polytechnic State University before earning three advanced degrees in flight test engineering, systems engineering, and military operational science. Before joining the astronaut corps in 2013, he logged over 3,000 flight hours in more than 40 different aircraft and completed 24 combat missions as a Navy pilot.
In 2020, Glover made history as the pilot of SpaceX Crew-1. He became the first Black astronaut to complete a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station, according to Britannica. During 168 days in orbit, he conducted four spacewalks. As the pilot of the Orion spacecraft, Glover is in charge of testing the navigation and control systems that will serve as the foundation for future lunar landings and eventual missions to Mars.
The Artemis II mission is scheduled to take off from Launch Complex 39B in Florida. Glover, serving as the mission’s pilot, is joined by a diverse crew including Commander Reid Wiseman; Mission Specialist Christina Koch, the first woman to journey to the Moon; and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (the first Canadian to do so), according to Kennedy Space Center. While the crew will not land on the lunar surface during this flight, they will perform a high-speed flyby that will take them farther into deep space, roughly 252,000 miles from Earth, than any human beings in history.
Artemis II is described as a “proving flight” designed to ensure that NASA’s most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), can perform successfully. The rocket and Orion capsule can safely sustain human life in the harsh radiation environment of deep space. During the 10-day journey, the crew will spend their first 24 hours in high Earth orbit once cleared, and the historic crew will slingshot toward the Moon’s far side.
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