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Astronaut Victor Glover: Space is Harder Than Wrestling
2 Apr
Summary
- Victor Glover compared navigating space to filling gloves with rice.
- He described walking in space as the hardest task he has chosen.
- Glover is the first Black man to travel around the moon.

Victor Glover, a distinguished Cal Poly graduate, has made history by becoming the first Black man to travel around the moon. This remarkable feat occurred on a mission where he and his crew orbited the moon and returned without landing, marking the furthest human travel since 1972.
Glover, who previously played football and wrestled at Cal Poly, shared his experiences with the university's president. He vividly described the challenges of navigating in space, comparing the sensation to manipulating rice-filled gloves. He stated that walking in space was the most difficult endeavor he had undertaken, second only to his demanding wrestling practices under coach Lennis Cowell.
Reflecting on his journey, Glover emphasized a more grounded perspective on heroism, stating, "I'm a human, and I make mistakes, and I learn, and I fail people and I fail myself." He also drew parallels between the current era and the challenging times of the Apollo missions, hoping his crew's flight could serve as a unifying moment for his generation.