"Do I see a future where we can work together on the moon? You know, here is one of the most powerful things about human space exploration, humans doing challenging things together, and there is an opportunity, but it takes leadership," Glover said on the sidelines of the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.
Glover noted that Russia and the US already work together on the International Space Station and that is one of the "best relationships between Russia and America."
"We could do more, but it would take leadership to give and take," he said. "It means America would have to make room for Russia and Russia would have to make room for America. And that is at the very highest levels. And if our leaders could take a lesson from us, I think we would, we'd have a chance at doing it. So we could but whether or not we will, it's up to our senior leaders."
Glover added that he saw more room for cooperation with China too. "And we could work with China. Our Congress hasn't told us we can't do anything with China. We can only do specific things," he said.
Messages to Cosmonaut 'Brothers' From Moon
When asked whether he will send any messages to Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud- Scerchkov and Sergey Ryzhikov from the moon, whom he called "brothers" and "two of his best friends," Glover stated: " Yeah. Oh, yeah, absolutely."
"I will send a message to every space explorer. And my cosmonaut colleagues are a part of that," he said on the sidelines of the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.
"Listen, when we leave low earth orbit, when we leave the planet … it's not just Americans and a Canadian. We're humans going on this journey for all people. We're going to try to do something for all space explorers. My buddies Sergei, Sergei and the whole cosmonaut crew are a part of that. Oh, big time. Big time. Yes."
Talking about his most memorable moments from working together with his Russian colleagues, Glover recalled having dinners with the whole crew and said that he wished that their countries got along as well as he and his colleagues do.
Glover went on to share he enjoyed talking to his Russian friends and sharing traditions, and that he stays in touch with his Russian friends.
"I was a launch escort for crew six. And so Andrey Fedyaev that went up on SpaceX, His escort was my other friend, Ivan Wagner," he said. "While Ivan and I were in Kennedy Space Center, we were sending pictures back to Sergey Kud-Sverchkov in Russia. They are my friends. The other astronauts that are up there, Dima [Dmitry Petelin] and Sergey Prokopyev, [are] good friends of mine. So that friendship, we are brothers, we work together. They are my friends."
Earlier in April, NASA officially introduced the Artemis II crew, set to return humans to the surface of the moon for the first time in over 50 years.
The Artemis mission crew consists of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
From left, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Hammock Koch, celebrate on stage as they are announced as the Artemis II crew during a NASA ceremony naming the four astronauts who will fly around the moon by the end of next year, at a ceremony held in the NASA hangar at Ellington airport Monday, April 3, 2023, in Houston. This crew will not land or even go into lunar orbit. Rather, they will fly around the moon and head straight back to Earth. The 10-day mission will be a prelude to a lunar landing a year later.
© AP Photo / Michael Wyke
Wiseman will serve as the commander of the Artemis mission while Glover, who is expected to be the first person of color to land on the moon, will serve as the pilot of the Orion spacecraft developed by Boeing. Koch will also set a new milestone along with Glover as she is set to become the first woman to land on the moon.
The Artemis II mission will only conduct a flyby around the moon in late 2024 while the Artemis III mission will land the astronauts on the moon soon after.