ICYMI: Kelly on Artemis II Launch: “This is inspiring and it’s exciting, and it’s something that we can only really do in this country.”

In case you missed it, retired NASA astronaut and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly shared with Americans and Arizonans why the Artemis II launch marks a defining moment for American innovation and is a source of national pride.

Senator Kelly stands in front of the Artemis II launch countdown clock.

Artemis II launched from Pad 39B, the same pad Senator Kelly launched from twice during his career as an astronaut.

While at the Kennedy Space Center, Kelly sat down with outlets from across the country to share why this mission matters for every American.

Sen. Kelly and brother Scott Kelly speak on CNN.

Kelly spoke on Morning Joe about the power of the Artemis program to inspire the next generation: "I was in kindergarten when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first stepped foot on the Moon. It was inspiring for me then."

"It's inspiring, but it also pushes technology forward. And I think that's really an important thing for the American people to understand. This, it does take a lot of resources to do programs like this, but it is really only here in the United States of America that we're able to marshal those resources, that technical talent, the engineers, and scientists we need to do this, to do hard things. And when we do hard things, we get a lot out of it."

With Everyday Astronaut's Tim Dodd, Kelly reflected on the power of this mission to inspire the next generation: "When I was a kid, I wanted to be the first person to walk on the planet Mars. I thought that could actually be me if I worked hard enough. Obviously, I was born in the wrong decade, maybe even the wrong century to do that. But there's a kid out there watching today, probably, who's watching this mission and is going to be possibly inspired to pursue a career in science and engineering and might be that first person that takes that first step on another planet."

With CNN's Randi Kaye, Kelly highlighted why this moment matters for our country right now: "I think it's a time in our country where we need some positive news. We got a lot of stuff going on, a lot of challenges, a lot of division, a lot of partisanship. Our country is at war, and I think there are a lot of folks out there that really don't know why we're doing this, but this is a positive thing."

With CNN's Boris Sanchez, Kelly also reflected on the perspective of unity that space travel brings: "Just floating there in the blackness of space, you get this strong and deep sense about how we're all in this together."

On NewsNation, he added: "They're going to go 4,000 miles on the far side of the Moon, which is something we've never done before, even during Apollo. This is essentially one of the steps we need to put U.S. astronauts back onto the surface of the moon."

Kelly also emphasized on Bloomberg the real economic benefits space exploration delivers for everyday Americans: "Other countries can't do this, and we get a lot out of it. Our aerospace industry creates hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs. These are jobs where you can afford to pay your rent and afford groceries and maybe go on a vacation once a year."

Sen. Kelly speaks on Morning Joe from Cape Canaveral.

On NBC, Kelly made the case for why this moment extends far beyond the launch pad: "Right now, it's up to me and my other colleagues in the Senate to make sure NASA has the resources to do this, but we can't leave this to the Chinese, to do this. They're incredibly ambitious in every arena. They present a challenge to us, militarily, economically, scientifically. And I think if we remain focused on the things that matter and address the issues that we need to fix with policy and politics, the rest of the century can truly be an American century. And it's missions like this that highlight the importance of doing that."

After the launch, Kelly spoke with CNN and left Americans with a final message of pride: "People should be really proud of our country. We do try to do impossible things, and we're often very successful at it, right? We landed people on the Moon in the 1960s. We're sending these three Americans and a Canadian back around the Moon. And here at some point in a few years, we're going to send people down to the surface of the Moon. We're going to build a presence there. We're going to build an economy there. There's not many countries that step up and try to do the impossible. And we have this culture here of innovation. And just like 'going for it' that you don't see in many places in the world."

Finally, on FOX Weather: "Go Artemis!" Watch Sen. Kelly on MS NOW's Morning Joe here, on Everyday Astronaut here, on CNN with Randi Kaye here, on CNN with Boris Sanchez here, on NewsNation here, on Bloomberg here, on NBC here, on CNN after the launch here, and on FOX Weather here.