'If I wanted to go to space, I would have stayed at NASA': What's next for Artemis II astronaut Victor Glover after his mission to the moon

Here's the thing about astronauts: we tend to think of them as permanently strapped to a rocket, their lives a sequence of launches, orbits, and lunar landings. But Victor Glover's decision to leave NASA before his scheduled Artemis II flight—the first crewed lunar flyby in half a century—reminds us that even spacefarers have career arcs that bend toward the ordinary. "If I wanted to go to space, I would have stayed at NASA," he reportedly said, which is the kind of humble-brag that only a person who has actually been to space can pull off. But what does it mean to walk away from the Moon? It's not just a change of job; it's a philosophical statement about where meaning resides. Glover's new role as executive advisor to the president of Cal Poly isn't a small gig—it's a chance to shape the next generation of engineers and dreamers. But it also feels like a deliberate rejection of the "space cowboy" narrative. In an era where billionaires are racing to colonize Mars and NASA is planning permanent lunar bases, Glover's choice is a quiet rebellion: he's saying that the most valuable work might be here on Earth, in the muddy soil of education and institutional change. That's a wild thought—that after seeing the Earth from orbit, the most awe-inspiring thing you can do is sit in a university boardroom. There's also a deeper cosmic irony. Artemis II was supposed to be the mission that reignited humanity's lunar ambitions, a stepping stone to Mars. By bowing out, Glover is essentially telling us that the stepping stone isn't the point—the journey is. He's already been to the International Space Station, he's seen the blackness of space and the thin blue line of our atmosphere. Maybe after that, the Moon feels like a repeat. Or maybe he's onto something else: that the real frontier is the human mind, and universities are the launchpads of the future. It's a speculative take, but so is everything in this weird universe. We should also consider the practical side: Glover's move might be a strategic one, a way to influence space policy from the outside, to mentor the next Victor Glovers. But in the Weird & Wild spirit, we prefer to think he's discovered a secret—that the Earth is just as strange and wonderful as any alien world, and that the most radical thing you can do is stay and tend to it. His quote, "If I wanted to go to space, I would have stayed at NASA," is a koan, a riddle that flips our assumptions. It's a reminder that the universe isn't just out there—it's in here, in the choices we make about where to direct our energy. And for that, we salute him, even as we mourn the loss of his flight suit. Source: [Space.com article](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/if-i-wanted-to-go-to-space-i-would-have-stayed-at-nasa-whats-next-for-artemis-ii-astronaut-victor-glover-after-his-mission-to-the-moon)