Astronaut Victor Glover is still trying to find the spiritual words to describe his Moon mission

On a humid evening in late March, Victor Glover huddled with his fellow Artemis II astronauts to have what the spacefarers called their “ultimate dinner.” It was their last full meal before embarking on their historic journey around the Moon — the first human-crewed visit to Earth’s silver satellite since 1972.

After Glover finished his spread of lamb chops, spinach and sweet potatoes, the cook returned with something else: Communion elements. The cook, a Christian himself, then sat next to Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen as the men paused to pray before observing the Christian sacrament together.

“I prayed and I pleaded that God accepts that I do this for the mission,” Glover, who worships with Churches of Christ congregations in Texas, told Religion News Service in a recent video interview.

It was a quiet moment of religious ritual shortly before a rocket launch so explosively loud that, even a mile away, the boom rivaled the sound of standing near a screaming jet engine. The Space Launch System that carried the Orion spacecraft then catapulted Glover, the pilot for the mission, and his fellow Artemis II crew members into space, where they soared around the Moon and back in a gaping 252,756 mile arc that took them farther away from the Earth than any human beings in history.

But as millions back home marveled at the nine-day mission’s breathtaking photographs and technical accomplishments, Glover said the journey was also steeped in spiritual significance, from blastoff to splashdown.

Religion & Politics

Photos of the Week: Ratha Yatra in NYC, World Cup begins

Bosnian Muslim boys and men dressed in Bosnian national soccer team jerseys pray at a Friday prayer, ahead of the soccer match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 between Canada and Bosnia, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

In Opinion

And finally, She left Amish life. Now millions watch her cook in Amish dress.

When Lovina Zook put her traditional, dark green Amish dress back on for the video that catapulted her into online fame, butterflies flooded her stomach.

“There was a sense of panic that I’m going to be trapped again,” Zook said.

Zook, now 23, had left her Iowa community of Swartzentruber Amish, one of the faith’s most conservative affiliations, just before she turned 18.

Years later, in 2024, she decided to make a video following the “everyone has a backstory” trend on TikTok, where she had started posting casually after growing up in a religious tradition that forbade her from using technology.

At first, she said, she didn't know what her backstory was. Then, it clicked.

Support our responsible reporting on religion