Cal Poly grad picked for NASA’s lunar mission team: ‘He could walk on the moon’
Cal Poly alumnus Victor Glover is among the select group of NASA astronauts who will train for a possible mission to the moon.
Glover, who graduated from the San Luis Obispo university with a general engineering degree, is one of 18 astronauts picked for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to send humans back to the moon within this decade. He was selected out of the space agency’s 47 active astronauts.
Right now, Glover, 44, is on a historic mission at the International Space Station, orbiting in Earth’s atmosphere while conducting research.
“The lessons learned on my current mission aboard the @Space_Station will pave the way for future exploration on the lunar surface, a dream within a dream,” Glover wrote in a post to Twitter. “It’s an honor to be part of the @NASAArtemis team!”
In a post to Twitter, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong wrote that “Our alum @AstroVicGlover has been named one of the 18 @NASAArtemis astronauts! Which means he could walk on the moon! #RideHigh.”
NASA has not yet announced which astronauts will be heading to the moon and when, but it noted that the first flight back to the moon will include a woman. The agency said that additional astronauts may be added to the Artemis program, including those from other countries, as needed.
Next year, the Artemis astronauts will help NASA and its commercial partners, such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX, develop the necessary technology to get humans back on the moon.
Vice President Mike Pence introduced the members of the Artemis team on Dec. 9 during the eighth National Space Council meeting at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“I give you the heroes who will carry us to the moon and beyond – the Artemis Generation,” Pence said. “It is amazing to think that the next man and first woman on the moon are among the names that we just read. The Artemis Team astronauts are the future of American space exploration — and that future is bright.”
It has been nearly 50 years since humans have walked on the moon. The last was NASA astronaut Gene Cernan, who visited the lunar surface in 1972 as part of the Apollo 17 mission.
Cal Poly grad on mission at International Space Station
NASA’s announcement of the Artemis Team members came while Glover is stationed on the ISS.
He boarded the ISS on Nov. 16, and will stay there for an additional five months before heading back to Earth.
While onboard, Glover and the six other crew members are conducting research and scientific experiments such as growing radishes to better understand plant growth and nutrition in microgravity; conducting cancer therapy research; studying how mining with microbes might be used on asteroids and continuing research into the effects of microgravity on the human heart.
Glover made history as the first Black crew member aboard the ISS for an extended stay. Those who preceded him stayed only briefly aboard the space station.
The launch to the ISS marked the first operational crew rotation mission from Earth to the ISS from U.S. soil since 2011. It was also NASA’s second manned launch since 2011, following the SpaceX flight in May.
Glover is the fourth Cal Poly alumnus to serve as a NASA astronaut.
