Artemis II Commander and Pilot Exit Astronaut Corps
Artemis II Commander and Pilot Exit Astronaut Corps
The News
NASA announced Wednesday that the two men who flew America back to the moon are coming off the active astronaut roster.
Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover will no longer serve as active NASA astronauts, the agency said Wednesday, and will instead support the moon program as emeritus astronauts.
Glover has taken a leadership job at his alma mater, California Polytechnic State University. Wiseman's future plans were not disclosed. His status change takes effect this month.
The pair flew around the moon in April with two other astronauts, setting a new distance record for humanity.
What Emeritus Means
NASA said the two will donate their time to train and mentor agency workers and pass along what they learned for future moon missions. The space agency described it as a new approach to making use of that expertise.
Who's Left
Artemis II's Jeremy Hansen retired from the Canadian Space Agency in July. That leaves Christina Koch as the only member of the crew still on the active astronaut rolls.
Timeline
NASA selects Wiseman, a Navy captain, as an astronaut.
NASA picks Glover, a Cal Poly graduate and Navy test pilot, for the astronaut corps.
Wiseman spends more than five months aboard the International Space Station. He later becomes NASA's chief astronaut.
Glover serves as pilot on SpaceX's second crew flight for NASA, a nearly six-month mission to the space station.
Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen fly around the moon on Artemis II, setting a distance record for humanity.
Hansen retires from the Canadian Space Agency.
The Artemis II crew receives the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from President Donald Trump at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Glover's Cal Poly job takes effect in San Luis Obispo, the same day he retires from the Navy.
NASA announces both men are moving to emeritus status.
Reactions
"Together, they took on one of the most challenging missions in human spaceflight and helped return America to the lunar environment," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. "I'm grateful they will continue sharing what they learned."
Glover told The Associated Press he is not walking away from the mission. "This is not a leaving ... for me, this is opening the aperture, not closing it down," he said.
He also said he wants to keep talking about "how faith and science work together in my life." He added: "That's not NASA's mission, but I can still help NASA from the sidelines."
Cal Poly said Glover will help shape long-term strategies at the university and encourage students to study science and engineering.
What's Next
Wiseman's change in status takes effect this month. Both men will stay attached to NASA as emeritus astronauts, mentoring the workforce and advising on future moon missions rather than flying them.
Glover, who could have waited for a shot at commanding a moon-landing flight, said he chose instead to focus on young people and to spend more time with his wife and four daughters. Three of them currently attend Cal Poly; the oldest has already graduated from there.
More
Glover's plain-spoken descriptions of Earth stood out during the flight. He called the planet an oasis in "a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe," and said the view was "an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing and that we've got to get through this together."
Wiseman and his crew asked for permission to name one of the moon's craters after his late wife, Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020.
Poll
Should NASA keep retired astronauts on as paid mentors for the moon program?
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