Cal Poly Community Cheers on Alum Victor Glover as Artemis II Returns to Earth
Contact: Matt Lazier
805-756-7109; mlazier@calpoly.edu
Glover is one of four NASA astronauts who made history in a trip around the far side of the moon
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly community gathered Friday afternoon to watch the Orion spacecraft return to Earth and cheer on alum Victor Glover and his fellow Artemis II crewmembers as they completed their historic mission to the moon and back.
Glover, a 1999 graduate of Cal Poly’s College of Engineering, piloted the craft on the mission that took humans farther from Earth than ever before and produced stunning images of the far side of the moon — which never faces Earth.
“I have enjoyed countless moments of pride in my 15 years at Cal Poly — but this one stands as a testament to why this university exists,” Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong said Friday. “We are honored to count Victor as part of the Cal Poly family and deeply appreciative of the faculty, staff and community that helped shape Victor’s journey and that continues to shape the journeys of talented students across every discipline at Cal Poly.
“This moment is more than historic,” Armstrong said. “It’s deeply personal to me and for our entire Cal Poly family. It represents the power of Learn by Doing and the extraordinary paths our graduates take.”
More than 300 campus and nearby community members gathered at the University Union on Cal Poly’s campus in San Luis Obispo to watch Artemis II’s return. In addition, the university livestreamed the splashdown at Spanos Stadium on campus, where thousands were gathered for the second night of the Poly Royal Rodeo — a centerpiece event to the university’s annual Open House celebration happening this weekend.
Open House brings thousands of prospective students, parents and supporters as well as alumni and members of the local community to campus for a showcase of the breadth and depth of Cal Poly’s hands-on, Learn by Doing education.
For more on Victor Glover and Cal Poly, please visit:
https://www.calpoly.edu/victor-glover.
For a video of President Armstrong’s remarks on Glover’s mission, please see:
https://vimeo.com/1181725040/33d224bd82?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci.
For additional photos and b-roll video of Friday’s watch party at Cal Poly, please see:
Top photo: Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong addresses a crowd of 300 students, faculty and staff at an April 10 watch party for the splashdown of NASA's successful Artemis II mission around the moon. The Orion capsule, nicknamed Integrity, was piloted by Cal Poly general engineering alumnus Victor Glover.
Cal Poly photo by Joe Johnston
