During a critical communication blackout on the Artemis II mission, astronaut Victor Glover shared powerful messages of love and unity, echoing historical spacefaring reflections.



The pilot of the historic Artemis II moon mission pointed those on Earth to Christ’s two greatest commands Monday, moments before the space capsule was set to slip behind the moon and lose communication in one of the defining challenges of deep-space travel.

Pilot Victor Glover cited Christ’s words on a milestone day for him and his three fellow astronauts – moments after breaking the record for the farthest distance from Earth for any human and just as the Orion capsule was nearing its closest approach to the moon.

Like every NASA moon mission before it, Artemis II faced a familiar hurdle: a temporary loss of communication with mission control as the spacecraft passed behind the moon and out of range of Earth.

For Glover and the Artemis II crew, that moment came late in the afternoon, as millions of Americans watched the long-awaited return to the moon – NASA’s first manned mission there since 1972.

The loss of communication spanned about 40 minutes.

“As we get close to the nearest point to the moon and the farthest point from Earth – as we continue to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos – I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on Earth, and that's love,” Glover said in a moment broadcast around the world.

JUST IN: Astronaut Victor Glover shares the Gospel from Artemis II before losing communication.

"Christ said in response to what was the greatest command, that it was to love God with all that you are."

"He said the second ... that is to love your neighbor as yourself."

“Christ said, in response to what was the greatest command, that it was to love God with all that you are – and He also being a great teacher – said the second is equal to it, and that is to love your neighbor as yourself.

“And so as we prepare to go out of radio communication,” Glover said, his words slightly muffled, he added he feels the “love from Earth” and “to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth – we love you from the moon.”

Glover’s comments echoed those of the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, when astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders read from the opening verses of Genesis during a live Christmas Eve broadcast from lunar orbit – man’s first mission to the moon.

Just as the Apollo 8 mission set the stage for the first moon landing by Apollo 11, Artemis II is paving the way for humanity’s return to the lunar surface.

The day before Easter, Glover – a Christian – was asked to reflect on the meaning of the holiday from space.

“When I read the Bible, and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us – who were created – you have this amazing place, this spaceship. You guys are talking to us because we're in a spaceship really far from Earth, but you're on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos,” Glover said.

Glover pointed to humanity’s shared home, the uniqueness of Earth, and the need for people to learn to live together.

“I think maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we're doing is special, but we're the same distance from you – and I'm trying to tell you, just, trust me, you are special,” Glover added. “In all of this emptiness, this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe – you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together. I think as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing, and that we got to get through this together.”

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