Astronauts who went farther into space than any other humans have returned to Earth after a dramatic reentry and splashdown near San Diego. All four will instantly become space celebrities and help humans understand their existence.
For two, however, their mission took on a special journey as they became the first Black man and first woman to go to the moon.
NASA’s Christina Koch, Victor Glover and the trailblazing Artemis II crew landed safely Friday after their nine-day journey to circle the moon and return. They are all part of the second phase of NASA’s ambitious Artemis program, which aims to one day establish a permanent presence on the moon and Mars.
It’s unclear how much of a role these astronauts will have in the next phases of the program, but they and fellow crewmates Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen are expected to train crews on future missions. NASA says that they will help apply data gathered during their lunar flyby, including how flight hardware and emergency system capabilities performed. They will also likely be sought-after speakers at schools and events and can help tell of deep space to countless Americans and others.
All four astronauts broke the record for the farthest distance ever traveled from Earth on this mission. But Koch and Glover were NASA standouts long before the launch of their Orion capsule in Florida last week.
Koch set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman and Glover made history as the first Black astronaut to live aboard the International Space Station. Now they get to add the moon mission to their resumes.
Here’s what to know about the pioneering pair:
Victor Glover
Victor Glover was born in Pomona, California, on April 30, 1976. He watched a space shuttle launch as a child, and that got him hooked on space, his father, Victor Glover, Sr., told WLBT in 2020.
“And basically said he’d like to fly that, and I think that’s kinda where the spark began,” the older Glover said.
After graduating from Ontario High School in 1994, Glover earned his Bachelor’s degree in general engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
He played Division I sports in college, including wrestling and football.
“I didn’t come in with a great work ethic. I had to step up and learn to work hard, at both sports and academics,” Glover previously said. “It was a challenge.”
In 1998, Glover entered the U.S. Navy’s Baccalaureate Degree Completion Program, which is designed to give financial assistance to people working toward their Bachelor’s degree while training for a Naval Reserve officer position.
Glover graduated in 1999, planning to travel the world during his eight-year commitment to the Navy, then earn his Ph.D. and become a college professor. Shortly after, Glover completed flight training, earning his wings as a Naval Aviator in December 2001.
From there, he went on to be test pilot, testing the F/A-18 Hornet, Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler. Glover was also deployed with the Navy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
He flew 24 combat missions and accumulated 3,500 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft.
When he wasn’t flying, he was at school. Glover later added three Master’s degrees between 2007-2010.
Two years later, after living in Japan and while completing a Legislative Fellowship for former Arizona Senator John McCain, he was selected as an astronaut candidate. By 2013, Glover was one of the eight members of the 21st NASA astronaut class and he completed the required candidate training in 2015.
He helped to command the International Space Station during several launches before he was assigned to his first mission as a pilot in 2018 on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
After launching in November 2020, he spent 168 days on the space station, completing four spacewalks.
“NASA’s vision is ‘to reach for new heights and reveal the unknown for the benefit of humankind.’ In a time when there are so many things that we let divide us, it just seems to be this really powerful unifying thing,” Glover told Cal Poly. “And that is my favorite aspect of this job.”
Glover, who is now 49, was assigned as the pilot of the Artemis II mission in 2023.
He, his wife of more than 20 years, Dionna Odom, and their four daughters – Genesis, Maya, Joia, and Corinne. They all live in Southern California.
Christina Koch
Christina Koch was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on January 29, 1979. Her mother, Barbara Johnsen, was a middle school math teacher, and her father, Dr. Ronald Hammock, was a physician. She has three younger siblings, none who have been named publicly.
Koch knew she wanted to become an astronaut since she was a little girl, a role that would also allow her to become an explorer.
Growing up, she cut out pictures of space and Antarctica from National Geographic magazine and put them on her walls, according to NC State Magazine.
“All of these places that were on the frontiers, places to be explored, just caught my interest from the time I was really young,” she told the publication.
Her family moved to Jacksonville, North Carolina, in 1982. There, she attended White Oak High School and graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in 1997. She would spend summers on the family’s farm in Michigan, before she attended North Carolina State University.
At college, she double majored in electrical engineering and physics – earning two Bachelor’s degrees and a Master’s degree in electrical engineering.
She was also part of the sailing club, was a rock climber, took photographs for the Technician, volunteered with habitat for Humanity and Engineers Without Borders and studied abroad in Ghana in 1999.
“I stayed very busy. I was interested in so many different things,” Koch said in an interview with Wolfpack Solutions in 2022.
After she graduated, Koch knew that becoming an astronaut was a long shot and decided to pursue jobs that would challenge her.
She worked as an electrical engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center from 2002-2004. Then, she became a research associate in the United States Antarctic Program through 2007 and an electrical engineer in the Space Department of the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University from 2007-2009.
She and Glover were selected to the same astronaut class and she launched on her first mission to the space station in 2019 as a flight engineer.
Koch spent a record 328 days in space and conducted six spacewalks, including the first three all women spacewalks.
On Artemis II, the 47-year-old serves as a mission specialist, checking life support, navigation and communications systems.
She lives with her husband Robert Koch and their rescue dog named “Little Brown Dog” in Galveston, Texas, according to Men’s Journal.
“To the young women and aspiring explorers out there: never doubt what you’re capable of,” Koch wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. “Your dreams are valid, your voice matters, and your place in science, engineering, and space is absolutely yours to claim.”
