NASA’s Victor Glover on his love for space and his upcoming mission to the moon

May 16th, 2023

NASA astronaut captain Victor Glover will pilot Artemis II for an historic mission around the moon. (Photo courtesy of NASA)

Victor Glover says he grew up watching the moon from his backyard.

However, he didn’t know he wanted to be an astronaut until he was 37 years old — and gained the courage to start astronaut candidate training.

The training paid off and fast forward to now, Glover is an astronaut and part of NASA’s Artemis II crew.

Glover, who is currently gearing up for his second mission into space, will pilot the Space Launch System rocket as it orbits the moon in deep space in November 2024.

During the 10-day spaceflight, Glover along with Commander Reid Wiseman, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen, will study the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems and test out capabilities and techniques needed for humans to live and work in deep space.

“My primary responsibility, maybe that’s the difference, is to make sure the vehicle and it’s sub systems are configured to execute the mission,” explained Glover during a pre-recorded conversation for Tuesday’s edition of “Closer Look.”

During the conversation, Glover talked about his passion for studying space and how he’s helping to prepare the next generation of astronauts.

“You have to work hard to become good at something and those challenges turned into education, and training and skills — things I can do with my hands and my brain,” said Glover. “On the way, I’ve made some really great friends and had some really amazing adventures — but most importantly, I’ve been part of some really amazing teams, starting with and now NASA and the Navy.”