By Cecil Egbele | Contributing Writer | California Local News Fellow
When NASA’s Artemis II rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at 3:24 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, April 1, a Southern California native will be at the controls.
Victor Glover Jr. grew up in Pomona, Southern California, graduated from Ontario High School in 1994, and earned an engineering degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Now 47 years old, he is about to make history as the pilot of humanity’s first crewed mission to be in close proximity to the Moon in more than 50 years — and the first person of color ever to do so.
The Artemis II mission will carry Glover and three crewmates — commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on a return trip around the Moon and back to Earth over ten days. It is a mission that carries the weight of generations.
No Black astronaut has ever traveled beyond low Earth orbit, not during the Apollo era nor in the decades of Space Shuttle flights that followed. Glover goes to the Moon not only as a naval aviator, engineer, and veteran astronaut, but also as part of a crew helping define what the next era of exploration looks like.
That grounded sense of purpose traces back to the Inland Empire. Glover returned to Ontario High School in November 2023 to speak with students, telling them: “We’re just the four people who are the newest members of the team trying to get a rocket and a spacecraft off the pad as soon as we can, safely, to send humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972.” He encouraged them to be determined and focused, “Keep dreaming but also on the way, put data with your dreams. Collect that data. Learn, grow, mentally, physically and emotionally and be the best version that you can be.”
Glover became the first Black astronaut to complete a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station during the SpaceX Crew-1 mission in 2020–21. Today, he breaks another record, this time, leaving Earth’s orbit entirely.
As Victor Glover moves from the launchpad to the lunar side, he isn’t just flying a spacecraft; he’s carrying the aspirations of a generation that has waited over half a century to see someone who looks like them reach for the Moon.
How to Watch
The 24-hour countdown is officially underway. Weather forecasts currently show an 80% chance of favorable conditions for the afternoon launch.
Launch Time: Wednesday, April 1, at 3:24 p.m. PDT.
The Mission: A ten-day journey to the Moon and back.
Where to Watch: You can stream the launch live on NASA+, NASA’s YouTube channel, the NASA app, or other broadcast and streaming platforms. Coverage begins early at 9:50 a.m. PDT.
