Two weeks ago, I wrote with bated breath, praying our return to manned space exploration would be a success with Artemis II — and indeed, it was. The world was captivated by the four-person crew, views of the moon heretofore unseen, and the new record the crew set by being farther from Earth than any man had gone, beating the record that Apollo 13 accidentally set when problems beset that mission and it needed to come home in a similar manner to Artemis II, by taking advantage of the moon’s gravity.

“This mission is big enough and daring enough to give us all hope in the future of our species,” wrote Libby Emmons at Human Events. “While political antagonism and petty identitarian squabbles seek to bring us to our knees, the astronauts of Artemis II uplift us — and lift us higher than many of us ever thought we would go again.” The editors of The Free Press added, “The 10-day Artemis II mission was a feat of disciplined human excellence, an expression of the sheer might of the human mind and spirit.”

It’s not to say everything went perfectly with Artemis II; the most urgent problem was the plumbing fixture on board. But contingency plans were already in place, and the issue was resolved without much incident. That aside, the four astronauts — mission commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — have etched their names into American history as our first to approach the moon in half a century. (In Hansen’s case, he’s the first Canadian ever.) More importantly, their mission is a stepping stone into further efforts to return Americans, or those we invite to participate, to the moon.

However, Artemis III, which is slated to lift off next year, has a different but similarly important goal: to “test integrated operations between the Orion spacecraft and one or both commercial landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin, respectively,” according to NASA. While it won’t be as captivating or historic in the sense that it’s not bound for lunar orbit, that third mission will be part of the preparation for Artemis IV, which will be the manned mission to return to the moon. If all goes well, Artemis IV will be launched in 2028.

Yet even with the success, some still believe this is a colossal waste of time. “It is absolutely self-evident to me that space exploration is pointless, and the more urgent the crises besetting this planet we live on, the more pointless it becomes,” complained columnist Zoe Williams at The Guardian. “If there is intelligent life anywhere, why has it not sought to make contact? It’s because there isn’t. There’s nothing out there except planets infinitely less beautiful than this one we live on.” Meanwhile, Ars Technica space reporter Stephen Clark titled a recent article, “The Moon is already on Google Maps — did Artemis II really tell us anything new?”

Silly writers: the idea wasn’t to do something completely new, since man has already been to the moon and robots have “seen” much of the lunar surface before Artemis II flew by. That was already baked into the cake.

“Speaking as a man who in some ways will forever be the boy who watched live in school as the Challenger exploded upon takeoff, every successful space mission feels like a miracle to me,” noted National Review’s Jeffrey Blehar, “so I was holding my breath last night as I watched the module descend to the ocean, slowed by three massive parachutes. What if something goes wrong at the last second? Of course it didn’t, and I shouldn’t have doubted.” For those of a certain age like me, the Challenger disaster is a reminder that space exploration carries great risk, but the reward can be fantastic.

Perhaps it was fitting that Artemis II was scheduled for our Easter holiday, when we commemorate the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. “I think, as we go into Easter Sunday,” said Glover, “thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, 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 gotta get through this together.”

After a period where NASA’s focus shifted away from lunar exploration to other, perhaps dubious, priorities, it’s good to see their rebirth as a space explorer.

“The United States has always been at its best when it chooses outward-looking hope over inward-looking cynicism,” observes columnist Josh Hammer. “Artemis II is a reminder that such a choice is still readily available to us. The question is whether we will choose correctly — and, in turn, help make the 21st century a distinctly American century.”

Paving the way for the success of future Artemis missions, with an eye toward a permanent presence on the moon (and beyond), is one way this mission established that vision. It’s up to the rest of us to ensure that it is carried out.