As Artemis II took off from Florida on their historic journey from Cape Canaveral to the moon, college sports fans might have recognized a familiar name.
The Artemis II pilot, Victor Glover, has a background in college football, representing the Cal Poly team in the late 1990s as a defensive back.
Glover, now 49, was considered quite the athlete in his day, also having a role in the wrestling squad. He played football for one season with the Cal Poly Mustangs and the team finished with a 5-6 record.
But that time clearly left a deep impression on Glover. In an interview with the school last year, he said his sporting career paved the way to becoming an astronaut.
‘This is truly my original launch pad,’ he said of being a student-athlete. ‘Cal Poly is the reason that I’ve been able to do some amazing things.
Glover is one of four astronauts on the 10-day mission aiming to perform various checks to ensure the reliability and safety of a spacecraft that has never carried humans before.
The Artemis II pilot, Victor Glover (second left), has a background in college football
The rocket took off successfully n Cape Canaveral, Florida late on Thursday afternoon
It aims to pave the way for a moon landing in 2028.
US President Donald Trump praised ‘our brave astronauts,’ calling the successful launch ‘quite something’ at the beginning of a televised address on the war against Iran.
And the President was joined by an array of college football fans sending Glover their best wishes when they discovered his backstory.
‘What a journey. Division I athlete to NASA pilot on a Moon mission is unreal,’ one fan posted on X.
Another said: ‘College athlete to Moon pilot – proof that teamwork, focus, and grind have no limits. Ultimate upgrade.’
A different follower joked: ‘Some 2nd grade teacher gave him a hard time when he said he wanted to be an athlete and an astronaut when he grew up.’
The astronauts will stick close to home for the first 25 hours of their 10-day test flight, checking out the capsule in orbit around Earth before firing the main engine that will propel them to the moon.
They stand to become the most distant humans ever when their capsule zooms past the moon and continues another 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) beyond, before making a U-turn and tearing straight home to a splashdown in the Pacific.
Moments after the launch, a girls’ softball game being broadcast live on ESPN paused briefly as the players noticed the rocket powering towards the sky.
Glover will also become the first black man to pilot a flight around the moon but said at the weekend that he was hoping the moment would bring everyone together.
‘It’s the story of humanity. Not black history, not women’s history, but that it becomes human history,’ he said.
