A Central Coast college graduate is among the four people named as astronauts for the first manned flight to the moon in more than 50 years.
Victor Glover will be the pilot of the Artemis II mission set for late next year. Glover graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1999. He became a Navy Captain, and military test pilot. It will be his second space flight. In 2020 and 2021, he was on the International Space Station for a 168 day mission.
The crew's ceremony was announced at a glitzy ceremony in Houston.
"Wow, what a day...look at all of this," said Glover. "This is amazing...after all of this, I feel like Denzel Washington should be up here, talking to all of you."
He’ll be the first person of color to fly to the moon. The Artemis missions are part of a series of flights to establish a manned base on the moon, and then use what’s learned for missions to Mars.
The astronaut said Artemis II is much more than a trip to the moon and back. "It is the next step that gets humanity on the road to Mars," said Glover.
Glover’s Artemis mission is expected to be a 10 day round trip flight to the moon. His team won’t actually land on the moon, but will test the rocket and capsule’s capabilities. The following mission, in 2025, includes a planned lunar landing.
