By David Hood-NuñoWASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) – At 12 years old, Naia Butler-Craig decided she wanted to be an astronaut. Each time she walked into St. Mark AME Church in Orlando, Florida, and saw the framed photo of Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to travel into space, she knew space was her ultimate goal.About 16 years later as a NASA aerospace engineer with a PhD in the same field, she shook the hand of Victor Glover, the first Black man who would pilot a spacecraft around the moon, and told him she was following in his footsteps.AdvertisementAdvertisement“Most people worry about making the right choice,” Butler-Craig recalled Glover’s response on January 17. “Make the choice right.”Almost three months later, Glover launched into space, becoming one https://www.reuters.com/science/artemis-ii-crew-includes-first-woman-black-astronaut-canadian-ever-flown-moon-2026-04-02/ of four people https://www.reuters.com/science/artemis-ii-crew-includes-first-woman-black-astronaut-canadian-ever-flown-moon-2026-04-02/ to travel farther from Earth than any human being https://www.reuters.com/science/artemis-crew-reaches-moon-approaches-record-breaking-distance-earth-2026-04-06/ in history as part of NASA’s Artemis II https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-canadian-astronauts-capture-global-attention-with-artemis-ii-moon-flight-2026-04-07/ mission around the moon.For Butler-Craig, it was an affirmation that her path, and the aspirations for millions of Black Americans who were once denied access to the highest echelons of academic and human achievement because of the color of their skin, are possible.“To see him live all of those facets of identity at the same time when that’s exactly the tension and the constant dichotomies I’m facing is incredibly validating,” she said of Glover. “It just makes me feel like he’s paved the exact road for someone like me.”AdvertisementAdvertisementTHE SKY IS NOT THE LIMITAs President Donald Trump’s https://www.reuters.com/world/us/donald-trump/ admi …
