“The first thing I would say is, trust us. You look amazing. You look beautiful. And from up here, you all look like one thing. Homo sapiens. No matter where you’re from or what you look like, we are all one people.” That was the message Victor Glover shared with Earth as he and the crew of Artemis II flew a mission around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.

As the pilot, he made history as the first African American astronaut to travel to the Moon. For Victor Glover, the journey to making history was shaped on the football field and on the wrestling mat, where he learned what it meant to compete, to struggle, and to grow. Those lessons became the foundation for everything that followed, shaping a path from sports to service and ultimately to something far greater, leading him to a place few humans have ever gone.

The Mustangs


A native of Pomona, California, Glover’s journey to space began at Ontario High School, where he played both running back and quarterback for the high school football team, winning Athlete of the Year in 1994. After graduating from high school, he joined the Navy and enrolled in the Navy’s Baccalaureate Degree Completion Program, allowing him to attend California Polytechnic State University, where he played football and wrestled.

It was on the wrestling mat where he would hone his mental fortitude, telling reporters that “The hardest thing that I’ve ever chosen to do in my life was walking in space,” “The second-hardest thing that I ever chose to do in my life was wrestling practice with Lennis Cowell,” (his wrestling coach).

IKE


After college, he continued his naval career, serving as an F-18 pilot during Operation Iraqi Freedom. When he returned home, he furthered his education, earning a master’s degree in Flight Test Engineering from the United States Air Force Test Pilot School and a master’s degree in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Over the course of his career as a pilot and test pilot, Glover logged more than 3,000 flight hours across over 40 different aircraft. In recognition of his expertise, he earned the call sign “Ike,” standing for I know Everything, a nickname given by his peers that reflected his acumen as a pilot.

The Last Frontier


In 2013, Glover joined a two-year astronaut training program with NASA. In 2020, he piloted the SpaceX Crew Dragon to the International Space Station, where he was stationed for six months. During that time period, he completed four spacewalks. In 2026, he piloted Artemis II in its mission around the Moon, making history as the first African American to go beyond low Earth orbit.

When reflecting on his history-making journey once he returned to Earth, Glover didn’t focus on his personal accomplishments but on how we can all unite and come together as people and celebrate this achievement as one people.

“I live in this dichotomy between happiness that a young woman can look at Christina [Koch] and just physicalize her passion or her interests … and that young, Brown boys and girls can look at me and go, ‘Hey, he looks like me, and he’s doing what?’ And that’s great,” he said.
“I love that, but I also hope we are pushing the other direction that one day we don’t have to talk about these firsts, that one day, this is just — listen to this — that this is the human history,” he continued. “It’s about human history. It’s the story of humanity — not Black history, not women’s history — but that it becomes human history.”

Victor Glover’s journey to the Moon and back is a testament to what’s possible. At just 49 years old, he has been a fighter pilot, earned two master’s degrees, and been to space multiple times. His journey is a great reminder that whatever we want to do, the sky is not the limit, it is just the beginning.