Allow me this brief admission, which is that today for the first time in decades my eyes filled with tears of joy as I watched the Artemis II rocket fly into space en route to the moon.

Watching the rocket blast off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., reminded me of the many mornings I would watch and wait for Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts fly into history. Mom and I would do so together and we cried together too.

When was the most recent time I cried at the launch of a spaceship? I believe it was the 1998 launch of the shuttle Discovery as it contained, in the words of NASA’s announcement upon launch, a crew featuring “six astronaut heroes and one American legend.” The legend happened to be John Glenn, who was making his second flight into space 36 years after orbiting three times aboard his Mercury capsule.

We have once more seen American ingenuity score a huge triumph with the successful launch of the Artemis II rocket. We have returned to the effort of putting astronauts on a deep space target. The moon awaits. The Artemis II crew will visit the moon up close, orbiting the celestial body and coming home. Eventually, we’ll head for Mars … what happens next remains anyone’s guess.

I am thrilled to watch this effort unfold. Today, we took a relative baby step as Artemis II roared off the launch pad as it writes another chapter in our nation’s rich scientific history.

Godspeed, Artemis II crew!