As the Artemis II crew neared the most isolated moment of their mission, one astronaut turned to the Bible to deliver a powerful message.
Astronaut Victor Glover, pilot of the mission, thanked Mission Control for joining them as they continued to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos, as they were moments away from losing communication.
He then reminded humanity about ‘one of the most important mysteries on Earth,’ which he said is ‘love.’
‘Christ said, in response to what was the greatest command, that it was to love God with all you are,’ Glover said, reciting Matthew 22:37-40.
‘And he also, being a great teacher, said the second is equal to it. And that is to love your neighbor as yourself.’
He then shared the crew’s message with the world, saying: ‘We love you, from the Moon.’ Mission Control confirmed it had been received, prompting Glover to end the transmission with: ‘We will see you on the other side.’
The blackout is a routine part of lunar missions, but it remains one of the most tense moments as crews move completely out of Earth’s reach while hidden behind the Moon.
Contact was restored roughly 40 minutes later as Orion reappeared from behind the Moon, officially ending the flyby and beginning the astronauts’ journey back to Earth, with splashdown expected Friday.
The Artemis II crew, featuring NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (second from left), Victor Glover (right) and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen (left), completed the six-hour flyby on Monday after soaring behind the Moon
As the Artemis II crew neared the most isolated moment of their mission, one astronaut turned to the Bible to deliver a powerful message
Communication was cut off at 6.43pm ET as the Orion spacecraft slipped behind the Moon, triggering a planned blackout caused by the lunar surface blocking radio signals between the spacecraft and antennas on Earth.
Moments before the scheduled loss of signal, Glover delivered a heartfelt message to those on Earth.
‘As we prepare to go out of radio communication, we’re still able to feel your true love from Earth,’ he said.
‘And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you from the Moon.’
The Artemis II crew, featuring Glover and fellow NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen, completed the six-hour flyby on Monday after soaring behind the Moon, becoming the first humans in more than half a century to witness the distant hemisphere with the naked eye.
Glover, the first black astronaut to travel around the Moon, marveled at the vast emptiness of space, describing the universe as ‘a whole bunch of nothing,’ while calling Earth ‘this oasis, this beautiful place’ where humanity exists together.
Speaking to BBC News ahead of the mission, he encouraged people on Earth to use the blackout behind the Moon as a moment of unity, urging them to pray, hope and send good thoughts that communication with the crew would be restored.
Glover is a Christian who attends a Churches of Christ congregation in Friendswood, Texas, with his wife, Dionna. The couple have four daughters, Genesis, Maya, Joia, and Corinne.
Astronaut Victor Glover, pilot of the mission, recited Matthew 22:37-40, which discusses the greatest commandment – loving others as you love yourself
Glover is a Christian who attends a Churches of Christ congregation in Friendswood, Texas, with his wife, Dionna. The couple have four daughters, Genesis, Maya, Joia and Corinne
He has cited his faith as a major source of inspiration throughout his career and carried several religious items, including a Bible and communion cups, to the International Space Station (ISS), where he also read Psalm 30, which discusses gratitude for God’s deliverance.
The flyby came after the four-person team shattered the Apollo 13 record in 1970, which saw the crew reach 248,655 miles from Earth.
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated the Artemis II astronauts on setting a new distance record from Earth.
‘On the far side of the Moon, 252,756 miles away, Reid, Victor, Christina and Jeremy have now traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history and now begin their journey home,’ Isaacman said in a statement on X.
‘Before they left, they said they hoped this mission would be forgotten, but it will be remembered as the moment people started to believe that America can once again do the near-impossible and change the world.’
Isaacman added that the mission ‘isn’t over until they’re under safe parachutes, splashing down into the Pacific.’
Jenni Gibbons, the capsule communicator in Mission Control, marked the milestone by sending a special message to Wiseman, Koch, Glover and Hansen.
Before launch, the astronauts left mission patches with flight controllers in Houston.
One side of the patch featured the Artemis II logo, showing Earth in the foreground with the Moon in the distance.
Now, as Orion rounds the Moon, mission controllers symbolically flip the image, placing the Moon in the foreground and Earth in the distance, to reflect the crew’s journey to the far side and back.
