NASA Astronaut Shares the Gospel From the Space: ‘Love God with all you are’

When NASA’s Artemis II crew reached their closest approach to the moon on April 6, pilot Victor Glover chose that singular, breathtaking moment to turn the world’s attention not to the cosmos, but to what he called its greatest mystery. He spoke about the greatest commandment in the Bible.

“As we get close to the nearest point to the moon and 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.

“Christ said, in response to what was the greatest command, that it was to love God with all 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.”

Those words weren’t just spoken live to ground control, they were broadcast to the world and came just minutes before the Integrity slipped behind the moon and fell into a total communication blackout. Glover knew silence was coming, so before it arrived, he left Earth with the words of Jesus.

It was, to put it plainly, extraordinary. An astronaut aboard the most distant crewed spacecraft since Apollo 13, orbiting a record-breaking 252,760 miles from Earth, more than 4,100 miles beyond that 1970 mission, he used his final transmission before silence to share the gospel. This is worth celebrating!

Glover is no stranger to sharing his faith publicly. During a previous mission to the International Space Station, he cited Psalm 30 as a source of strength.

Before Artemis II launched April 1 from Kennedy Space Center, he told BBC News that the planned communication blackout was itself an invitation: “Let’s take that as an opportunity. Let’s pray, hope, send your good thoughts and feelings that we get back in contact with the crew.”

He had also spoken movingly to CBS News on Easter Sunday about the strange gift of perspective that space travel offers. Looking down at Earth from deep space, he said: “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.”

He went on to describe Earth as “this oasis, this beautiful place” floating in “all of this emptiness” where “we get to exist together.” He continued, “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 is joined on the mission by commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, the first Canadian ever to fly a lunar mission. Together, they represent the first humans to fly around the moon since 1972, and the first in the new Artemis era, whose stated purpose is to lay the groundwork for a sustained human presence on the lunar surface.

With the world shaken by multiple conflicts, Glover’s message carried unique weight. He spoke about unity, about gratitude, about the strange comfort of seeing the whole Earth as one fragile, luminous thing. The cosmos has a way of shrinking divisions. And from out there, 252,000 miles away, the distinction between neighbor and stranger must look very thin indeed.

Glover’s final words before losing signal on April 6 were: “As we prepare to go out of radio communication, we’re still able to feel your true love from Earth. And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you from the moon.”

“Houston copies,” ground control replied. “We’ll see you on the other side.”

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