Artemis II pilot Victor Glover returns to Naval Postgraduate School

NASA astronaut and Navy Capt. Victor Glover visited the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey on June 16 to speak to students, tour labs and reflect on his path from NPS graduate to Artemis II pilot. The visit highlighted NPS’s role in training military officers and supporting research tied to space, aviation and fleet operations.

Why it matters: - Victor Glover’s visit underscored how Naval Postgraduate School training feeds directly into Navy, NASA and space operations. - The event also showcased NPS research that is moving toward real-world deployment, including space-based sensing and CubeSat operations. - Glover’s message emphasized teamwork, lifelong learning and mission-focused education for mid-career officers heading back to the fleet.

What happened: - NPS hosted Glover on June 16 for a campus-wide address and student engagement during the Secretary of the Navy Guest Lecture Series. - Glover is an NPS alumnus, a U.S. Navy captain and the Artemis II pilot. - Glover met with a dozen mid-career officer students from the Department of System Engineering and the Space Systems Academic Group. - Glover also toured laboratories and reviewed student research. - The presentation, titled “From Monterey to the Moon (and Back),” drew about 1,300 people in person and online. - The audience included students, faculty, staff, children, family members and community members.

The details: - Glover graduated from NPS in 2009 with a Master of Science in Systems Engineering and a space systems fundamentals certificate. - His NPS research focused on flight testing new technology for underwing systems carried by F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and other aircraft. - Glover said NPS became his top graduate-school choice because of educational quality, relevance to Navy priorities and flexibility for a demanding test-pilot schedule. - While stationed at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Glover was an NPS hybrid student in the systems engineering distance learning program. - Glover said his work at China Lake and his NPS coursework reinforced each other. - Glover said his boss at China Lake and his thesis advisor, Mark Rhoades, helped make his project useful for both academics and real-world applications. - Glover said NPS allows classified research, which is rare among universities. - Glover described his path from Navy aviator to test pilot to astronaut. - After flying F/A-18 Hornets in combat, Glover attended test pilot school at Edwards Air Force Base and then deployed as a test pilot to China Lake. - The auditorium featured NASA artifacts on loan to NPS, including space helmets and a spacesuit belonging to retired U.S. Navy Capt. Gene Cernan. - Artemis II launched four astronauts around the Moon in April. - Glover’s crew included commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen. - Apollo 17 last brought humans to the Moon in 1972. - Glover noted that Cernan, who commanded Apollo 17, was also an NPS graduate. - Glover said his time doing graduate school while flying as a test pilot was a major part of his life. - On his second day at NPS, Glover met with graduate students in systems engineering and space systems to discuss current thesis work. - Three of the students were ensigns in a fast-track master’s program headed to flight school. - Glover told students that officers learn to apply their skills in data-driven ways at NPS and return to the fleet as better decision-makers. - U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Brian Neri briefed Glover on a student-faculty research team project. - Neri’s team designed and built a space-based terahertz imaging camera scheduled for deployment to the International Space Station in 2027. - The camera monitors oxygen emissions in the upper atmosphere and can detect objects leaving or entering space. - Glover also visited the mission control room where NPS tracks CubeSats and operates the Mobile CubeSat Command and Control ground network. - NPS has decades of experience building and launching satellites and space instruments. - Neri graduated this month with master’s degrees in space systems operations and applied physics. - U.S. Navy Lt. Jaia Friesen briefed Glover on research into space weather effects on radar components for AEGIS combat systems in Arctic operations. - Friesen’s work focuses on geomagnetic storms, radio blackouts and solar radiation, which can affect high-latitude environments more severely. - Friesen graduated June 18 with a Master of Science in Systems Engineering and will attend engineering duty officer school before becoming an engineer at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. - More than 400 NPS students graduated in the Spring Quarter class on June 18. - Four-time space shuttle astronaut Jim Newman, former SSAG chair and NPS acting provost, introduced Glover. - Newman said America is stepping up to go back to the Moon to stay and build a station there. - Newman said Glover reflects NASA’s values of hard work, resilience and humility. - NPS says it has more than 40 astronaut alumni and former faculty. - NPS alumni and former faculty have flown on Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle, ISS, Soyuz, SpaceShipOne, Crew Dragon and Artemis missions. - Glover said the Artemis II crew did not reach the Moon alone and credited teamwork across agencies and decades of preparation. - Newman said the next Americans to land on the Moon may be former NPS students.

Between the lines: - Glover’s return functioned as both a homecoming and a recruiting message for NPS’s mission-driven graduate programs. - The student briefings showed how NPS links advanced research to fleet needs, space operations and national security missions. - The mix of aviation, space systems and Arctic research reflected NPS’s broad role in preparing officers for specialized technical jobs. - The visit also reinforced NPS’s long-running identity as a launch point for astronauts and space leaders.

What's next: - NPS students will continue work on the terahertz imaging camera ahead of its planned 2027 deployment to the International Space Station. - Friesen will attend engineering duty officer school and then move to Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. - NPS will keep operating its CubeSat tracking and Mobile CubeSat Command and Control network as part of its space research portfolio. - Artemis follow-on missions are expected to push toward longer lunar operations and eventual extended human presence on the Moon.

The bottom line: - Glover’s visit showed how NPS education, research and astronaut alumni remain tightly linked to the next phase of U.S. naval and lunar exploration.