Top image courtesy of NASA/Frank Michaux

In April, Cal Poly alumnus and astronaut Victor Glover will be one of four crew members rocketing into space as part of NASA’s history-making Artemis II mission.  

Artemis II is the first crewed flight around the moon in over 50 years, as well as NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft.  

The goal is to “confirm all the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space,” which will hopefully lead to future lunar surface missions and establishing long-term lunar science and exploration capabilities, according to NASA.  

The mission will last approximately 10 days, NASA said. For about two days, as they remain relatively close to Earth, the crew will test Orion’s systems and perform a “targeting demonstration test” before continuing on toward the moon.  

The trip will take the crew on a wide orbital path around the moon, which could bring them farther from Earth than humans have ever been before. 

In a 2025 interview with Cal Poly Magazine, Glover compared the nature of the Artemis mission with his 2020 mission aboard the International Space Station.  

“We’ve had 25 continuous years of humans in low Earth orbit on the International Space Station, so over time, that training program has gotten to the point where we know what we really need to do,” he said. “But on this lunar mission, we’re testing the Orion capsule. We’re testing the suits. We’re testing the landing and recovery procedures. We’re testing the flight control team. And it’s a much more hostile environment because we’re so far from home.” 

In addition to Glover, who is the crew’s pilot, the other members are Commander Reid Wiseman, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch, and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen of Canada.  

“For the first time in more than 50 years, these individuals — the Artemis II crew — will be the first humans to fly to the vicinity of the Moon,” Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, said in 2023. “Among the crew are the first woman, first person of color, and first Canadian on a lunar mission — and all four astronauts will represent the best of humanity as they explore for the benefit of all.” 

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