The pilot of the pioneering space mission Artemis II is a committed Christian.
Victor J Glover is a member of the Church of Christ, a grouping of conservative Protestant congregations mostly found in the USA.
In 2021, Evangelicals Now reported that he had taken communion cups and a Bible up to the International Space Station.
Now, he is part of a trailblazing team of four aiming to go round the moon - the first time humans have done so since 1972. And he and his crewmates are expected to reach a distance of 252,799 miles from Earth, about 4,000 miles (6,400 km) further than anyone has gone before.
Glover will also "make history as the first person of colour to travel beyond low Earth orbit," US news organisation ABC reports.
"Ten... nine... eight..."
In 2023 he told American magazine Christianity Today that as the famous countdown "Ten... nine... eight..." proceeds, he will be praying the Lord's Prayer.
“I know that God can use us for his purposes,” Glover said at the time. “When Jesus was teaching the disciples to pray, he used that very specific prayer that we all know, ‘Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name …’ So, listen, I am a messenger of his kingdom; his will be done.”
On his first trip into space in 2020, to the International Space Station (ISS), he told the Christian Chronicle website: "I want to use the abilities that God has given me to do my job well and support my crewmates and mission and NASA,” he said. “That’s really the thing I think the most about.”
Before joining NASA, Glover flew combat missions in Iraq. “Just in general, before I go and even get in an airplane to go on a flight, I say a prayer, and I always think about my family,” Glover said. “If I don’t see them directly for some reason, I’ll send them a note, a text message, because I do a very high-risk thing," he told the Chronicle.
“I’m not in combat anymore being shot at, but there’s still a risk,” he explained. “So I always want to make sure that, ‘Hey, if today is my day, I’ve told my family, I’ve told my girls that I love them, and I had a chance to commune with God directly.’ And then I go and do what I need to do and feel good about it.”
In 2022, Glover spoke to the Abell Street Church of Christ in Wharton, Texas about his time in orbit on the ISS, Christian Headlines reported.
"I was able to worship," he said. "... I was able to take communion every week I was in space."
'Sharply dressed'
NASA, Glover said, "supported me and my family's desire to continue to worship and to continue our faith walk even while I was off the planet."
"That was really important to me," he said.
Glover is married to Dionna and they have four children - Genesis, Maya, Joia and Corinne.
The Artemis II trip sees Glover blasting off with Commander Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch, along with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.
BBC News reported: "Those who know him say he is the most charismatic of the quartet and the most sharply dressed, with designer brown leather boots that somehow look good even with an orange flight suit. His call sign, "IKE", is reputedly short for "I Know Everything", a nod to his three master's degrees in flight test engineering, systems engineering and military operational art and science.
"Glover has said he will take with him a Bible, his wedding rings and family heirlooms, along with a collection of inspirational quotations compiled by Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart," the BBC added.
As this article was written, Artemis II is set to launch between 18:24-20:24 local time (23:24-01:24 BST) on Wednesday 1st. NASA reported the weather as currently looking favourable. Live updates can be viewed here. If this date is missed due to weather conditions or other issues, there are further opportunities to launch until April 6th, and also at the end of the month.
