Astronaut’s faith shines brighter than moon mission itself

Faith Facts

• Victor Glover, member of Southeast Church of Christ in Friendswood, Texas, became the first African American astronaut to fly to the moon on the Artemis II mission
• Throughout the historic 252,756-mile journey, Glover consistently glorified God and shared messages of faith and love with the world
• The Artemis II crew brought unity and inspiration to millions while demonstrating faith, humility, and teamwork in NASA’s first moon mission in 53 years

Welcome home, Victor Glover! We know you must be tired, but you energized us.

You and your Artemis II crewmates traveled 252,756 miles from Earth — a record for humanity. We won’t take a lot of your time, but as your brothers and sisters in Christ, we must thank you.

Not for becoming the first African American astronaut to fly to the moon, although that’s remarkable. Not for the fame piloting NASA’s first moon mission in 53 years brought you, although that’s terrific.

Not for the technical skills you demonstrated aboard “Integrity” — the name your crew gave the Orion spacecraft — although you’re brilliant. Instead, we must thank you for the faith and humility you displayed throughout the mission.

You made us proud. So, so proud.

A member of the Southeast Church of Christ in Friendswood, Texas, you never failed to glorify God. Again and again, you publicly thanked the Creator of the universe.

And again and again, you emphasized the importance of love. Specifically, you pointed to Jesus’ instruction to love our neighbors.

“To all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you from the moon.”

Your message came in loud and clear. A quarter million miles from home, you made the world seem smaller and brought us all closer together.

Given the division that so often permeates our corner of the galaxy, that’s an amazing accomplishment.

Please pass along our appreciation, too, to your crewmates: Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Each of you reminded us of the value of teamwork and camaraderie.

You didn’t just work hard. You also enjoyed each other’s company.

Even when faced with not-so-otherworldly problems — namely a clogged toilet in a part of the universe lacking plumbers — you kept laughing. To our delight, you made us all feel like a part of the team.

“We wanted to go out and try to do something that would bring the world together, to unite the world.”

Congratulations! Mission accomplished.

Koch talked about how much the support from those who followed Artemis II meant to the crew of three Americans and one Canadian.

“It was every bit as important as accomplishing the technical goals and being there for our NASA teammates. (We wanted) to make this the world’s mission and for it to have a positive impact.”

Again, congratulations! Mission accomplished.

Hansen described viewing the Earth, the moon and the stars from such an amazing vantage point.

“We’re all kind of struck by these things that make us feel small. The sense I had was this sense of fragility and feeling small — infinitesimally small — but yet this powerful feeling as a human feeling, like as a group.”

Amen!

Victor, thank you and your crewmates for journeying farther into space than anyone in history. You inspired us.

You increased our awe. We can’t wait to see where the Lord leads you on your next adventure.

Godspeed, dear brother.

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