Analysis. Americans are planning a return to the moon, and a man of prayer is going to get them there.

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Just before Easter NASA announced the crew for next year’s Artemis 2 mission, which will be the first manned endeavor to the moon in more than 50 years. Selected to pilot the spacecraft was Captain Victor Glover, a California native and Navy air combat veteran who will be the first African American on a lunar mission. Glover is also a committed follower of Christ.

During his first trip off-planet in 2020, Glover brought pre-packaged communion cups and a Bible with him to the International Space Station so he could worship online with his home congregation each Sunday. And when he was selected as the Artemis 2 pilot, Glover sought to honor God in his press statement.

“I very intentionally put God at the front, in the very first comment, and at the end,” Glover later told Christianity Today. “It’s the way I try to live my life as well. The beginning, the end, and all the way through.”

Glover will be joining three other crew members for the voyage — Commander Reid Wiseman, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen. Together they will take a major next step for America’s space program as they bravely fly to the moon and back testing the reliability of NASA’s newest Space Launch System rocket, as well as the life-support and maneuvering abilities of its Orion spacecraft.

While a lunar landing will not come until Artemis 3, next year’s mission will provide much needed data and insights into the technology and techniques needed for survival and productivity in deep space. This information will be critical for success in a strategy not just to visit the moon on brief trips, but to establish a permanent presence there. And then to look beyond — to Mars.

“Together, these test flights will demonstrate the capabilities we need to land humans on the moon and enable long-term missions for decades to come,” a NASA official said in 2018 when describing Artemis 2. “We will take the experience gained exploring the moon to prepare for the next giant leap to Mars.”

In the most recent announcement NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called the Artemis 2 team “humanity’s crew” and one that will spur “a new era of exploration for a new generation of star sailors and dreamers.”

Telling his hometown NBC affiliate that his selection for this special team was “humbling and shocking,” the inspirational value of the mission is not lost on Glover. Nor is its gravity.

“We know the risks we’re talking about,” he told Christianity Today. “This is the first flight of the vehicle.”

Glover finished his interview with Christianity Today with an appeal for prayer. He asked that fellow believers, “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,” he added. “If you could pray for our families, that would be amazing.”

Let’s pray for the entire crew of Artemis 2 as they undergo the rigorous preparations for next year’s monumental space flight. And let’s pray especially for Captain Glover as he seeks to honor Christ in his family, among his teammates, and before the watching eyes of the entire world.

How are you praying over this space flight? Share your prayers and scriptures below.

Aaron Mercer is a Contributing Writer with two decades of experience in Washington, D.C.’s public policy arena. Photo Credit: NASA on Unsplash.