NASA astronaut Victor Glover, pilot of the Artemis II mission, has reignited conversations about faith and high-stakes human endeavor with a simple yet striking statement: “There are no atheists on top of rockets.”
Glover, a veteran of the International Space Station and the first Black astronaut to complete a long-duration stay there, originally made the comment in a 2023 interview. Adapting the well-known military adage “there are no atheists in foxholes,” he explained that moments of extreme risk prompt reflection on mortality and dependence on a higher power. “My career is fed by my faith,” Glover said. “Anytime I do something that’s pretty risky, I pray before I fly, every time I fly… Definitely when you go sit on top of a rocket ship.”
The remark has circulated widely online, especially after recent Artemis II activities where Glover delivered an unscripted Easter message from deep space aboard the Orion spacecraft. Speaking near the moon, he highlighted the “beauty of creation,” Earth’s uniqueness in the vast cosmos, and the biblical command to “love God with all you are” and “love your neighbor as yourself.” He even encouraged prayers during a planned communications blackout behind the moon.
Such seething was captured by the aptly named Reddit Lies. But the astronaut, now vaulting into even more fame because of the late notoriety of the mission, has his faith made known. An astronaut proclaiming the existence of God is more effective than most of what constitutes apologetics. Glover is not the first to do so, but it has been a long time since a manned mission to space has attracted this much attention.
One Response
These pilots are propaganda assets. Always have been and always will be. Their carefully curated mouths will speak whatever the agency wants you to hear, there is nothing “unscripted” happening ever.
People sitting on top of rockets are pretty much the 1960s variety of influencers. That kind of influencing is very domestic to the US and pretty much a thing of the past really only affecting boomers. If you want to influence later generations, you need to get into video games. As we have seen, everyone including defense did, but there the messaging there is not really a Christian one.