Victor Glover is not only hoping to do God's will in the Artemis 2 mission but also to inspire others by becoming the first Black person to go to the moon.
Sometime late next year, four astronauts will climb aboard the spacecraft and shoot out into the sky toward the moon for the first time in more than half a century.
As announced on April 3, Victor Glover is set to pilot Artemis 2 and is asking for prayer while he hopes to do God's will on this mission.
"I know that God can use us for his purposes," says Glover to Christianity Today. "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."
Previously, Glover was a Navy captain who flew combat missions in Iraq before becoming a test pilot, a NASA astronaut, and a crew member of the International Space Station. Together with Reid Wiseman, Jeremy Hansen, and Christina Koch, he will travel to the moon for the first time in 50 years.
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He will be the first Black man to go to the moon, and Koch will be the first woman. And if this mission is successful, it will be succeeded by Artemis 3, which is planned to land on the moon and set up a camp.
The end goal is to develop infrastructure on the moon and further science to allow for farther space travel; eventually to Mars. But they need to test to see if the craft can sustain life and can maneuver space under human control.
Glover is a committed Christian man, a member of a Church of Christ who occasionally teaches Sunday school. At the press conference, he spoke of God at the beginning and the end, which wasn't a coincidence.
"I very intentionally put God at the front, in the very first comment, and at the end. It’s the way I try to live my life as well. The beginning, the end, and all the way through."
Even though Glover will rewrite history as the first person of colour to fly to the moon, he doesn't want that as the focus of the mission. He says he prayed about how this mission could represent his country.
And during the announcement last week, after seeing the love and support from his colleagues, he knew he was where he was supposed to be.
Glover recalled the last time he was in space, he read the Bible, and he felt closer to God than ever before. He found himself reading Phillippians 4, and it was verse 13 stuck with him a little more than the rest.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
He has prepared for this mission to the best of his ability, there's nothing else he can do except put his faith in God.
"We know the risks we’re talking about. This is the first flight of the vehicle. My biggest fear—I may still be processing that."
So, when the rocket fires up, he will say a quick prayer for a successful mission and a safe return.
"Pray for our crew. Pray for the hardware. Pray for the team all around the world that support this. And the hardest mission of all is the one our families are about to embark on. If you could pray for our families, that would be amazing."