Victor J. Glover, Jr. was announced as the pilot of the Artemis II mission, which is currently planned to flyby the Moon no earlier than April 2026. He is to be joined by NASA astronauts Gregory R. Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

Glover was selected as an astronaut in 2013 while serving as a Legislative Fellow in the United States Senate. He is served as pilot and second-in-command on the Crew-1 SpaceX Crew Dragon, named Resilience, which launched November 15, 2020. When Glover arrived at the International Space Station in November, he settled in for a six-month stay to become the first Black astronaut to live and work on ISS for an extended period of time.

Before becoming a NASA astronaut, Glover was a commander and test pilot in the U.S. Navy, where he flew 2,000 hours in over 40 aircraft, 24 combat missions. Glover got his bachelors in general engineering from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California.

Glover was stationed in Japan, deploying to various locations in the Western Pacific. Previously serving as a test pilot he was awarded the 2009 Black Engineer of the Year Awards, Modern Day Technology Leaders Award. Glover was commissioned in the Navy via Officer’s Candidate School, where he served as the Regimental Commander.

As an undergraduate at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo he was a NCAA Division-I Wrestler & Football player, led efforts to establish the first student-funded outreach and retention center in the California Public University system, and was awarded the College of Engineering Service to the Community Award. Glover earned graduate degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School, Air University, and the Air Command and Staff College with distinction.

He is an advocate for youths traditionally underrepresented in higher education, a life-member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, a life-member of the Tailhook Association, serves on the Cal Poly College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council, is a mentor for Ever Forward (Siempre Adelante), and dreams of becoming a master Djembe drummer.

Space, NASA, Astronauts, Science, Science and Technology Professionals, Navy, Pilots & Aviators, Diversity & Inclusion, Veterans Military, Inspirational, SXSW, Black Heritage,