The commander and pilot of NASA’s Artemis II mission, which carried astronauts around the moon earlier this year, are stepping down from active spaceflight duties.

NASA announced Wednesday that Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover will leave the active astronaut corps but continue supporting the agency’s lunar exploration programme as emeritus astronauts.

Glover has accepted a leadership position at California Polytechnic State University, his alma mater, while Wiseman’s future plans have not been disclosed.

The two astronauts, along with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency and Christina Koch, flew around the moon in April, setting a new distance record for human spaceflight.

Hansen retired from the Canadian Space Agency in July, leaving Koch as the only Artemis II crew member who remains an active astronaut.

As emeritus astronauts, Wiseman and Glover will volunteer their time to train and mentor NASA personnel and share their experience with teams preparing for future lunar missions.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the two astronauts had undertaken one of the most demanding missions in human spaceflight and helped return the United States to the lunar environment.

“I’m grateful they will continue sharing what they learned,” Isaacman said.

Cal Poly said Glover will help develop long-term strategies at the university and encourage students to pursue science and engineering.

His new position in San Luis Obispo took effect Sept. 1, the same day he retired from the US Navy.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Glover said his decision was not an ending but an opportunity to broaden his work.

“This is not a leaving ... for me, this is opening the aperture, not closing it down,” he said.

Glover said he also wanted to continue discussing how faith and science have influenced his life.

“That’s not NASA’s mission, but I can still help NASA from the sidelines,” he said.

Rather than waiting for the opportunity to command a future lunar landing mission, Glover said he chose to move on from spaceflight to focus on young people and spend more time with his wife and four daughters.

Three of his daughters are currently studying at Cal Poly, while the eldest has already graduated from the university.

Wiseman’s transition from active astronaut status will take effect this month.

Selected by NASA in 2009, Wiseman, a retired Navy captain, spent more than five months aboard the International Space Station in 2014 before later serving as the agency’s chief astronaut.

Glover graduated from Cal Poly in 1999 and went on to become a Navy test pilot before being selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2013.

He served as pilot on NASA’s second SpaceX crew mission, spending nearly six months aboard the International Space Station in 2020 and 2021.

Glover drew attention for his reflections during Artemis II’s journey to and from the moon.

Looking at Earth from space, he described it as an oasis surrounded by “a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe,” where humanity exists as one.

“This is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing and that we’ve got to get through this together,” he said.

Wiseman also became emotional during the mission when he and his crewmates asked for permission to name one of the moon’s craters after his late wife, Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020.

Last month, the Artemis II crew received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from US President Donald Trump during a ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.