Victor Glover made history April 1 as the first Black astronaut to fly to the moon — a milestone that simultaneously broke barriers and underscored persistent inequities in science education.

Glover served as pilot of the Artemis II mission, a 10-day flight orbiting the Moon to prepare for future deep space exploration. He and his crewmates — Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — stand in contrast to NASA’s first trip to the moon 57 years ago, on which there were no female or non-white astronauts.

“Victor represents a commitment to excellence [and] an ability to overcome barriers,” said Wesley Harris, a professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Of the 379 NASA astronauts who have flown to space, only 23 have been Black, according to NASA databases. This reflects the overall underrepresentation of Black individuals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, according to a 2024 report by technology company YouScience and nonprofit Black Girls Do STEM.

 

The report found significant “exposure gaps” — the disparity between a student’s potential and the educational opportunities they have — for Black youth when it comes to STEM fields. There is a 75% gap in advanced manufacturing, a 57% gap in health science and a 51% gap in computers and technology, the report found.

Daisy Ortega, acting director of the LEAH project, a non-profit providing students of color in Boston with STEM opportunities, said these gaps are not owed to a lack of talent or motivation, but rather “a question of access.”

 

Victor Glover poses for a portrait inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, March 2021. PHOTO: NASA

 

Many STEM high school internships are unpaid, Ortega said, limiting students who can’t afford to go without income. Additionally, many Boston schools serving students of color lack lab facilities or Advanced Placement courses, meaning there are fewer opportunities to explore STEM interests early on.

Thus, while Glover becoming the first Black man to orbit the moon is a huge milestone, Ortega said the LEAH project also hopes to “get to a place where there are fewer firsts.”

 

“I think for our young people, it’s important for them to see themselves in these roles, but we also want them to feel like they have a right to that,” Ortega said.

Harris, who founded MIT’s Office of Minority Education in 1975, attributed some of the barriers to faculty who don’t account for students’ different backgrounds and ways of learning, as well as to a school culture he said “is not designed for the success of students of color.”

“When it comes to forming partnerships within laboratory experiences at the undergraduate level, what student is always the last invited to join?” Harris asked. “It’s not 100%, but usually it’s a student of color, especially the undergraduate woman of color.”

Those disparities extend beyond the classroom. According to Harris, in student-run dormitories, leadership positions are also disproportionately held by students who are not people of color.

 

For Harris, a more equitable STEM field begins not with Glover leading a NASA mission — but in the elementary school classroom.

“I want a world where parents of students of color go to a school board meeting in demand of the school board that every class, every grade level, has in it an opportunity to present, past and current successes of people of color in the STEM fields,” Harris said.

Until then, Harris said, successes and opportunities like Glover’s “just won’t develop” into anything more.

Still, Ortega said the representation found in Glover is important — especially for her young niece, who has been following the Artemis II mission.