If you were a kid growing up in the 1960s, chances are you wanted to be an astronaut when you grew up. In fact, being an astronaut was the top dream job for kids, ahead of occupations like teacher or TV cowboy.

Following President Kennedy’s 1961 challenge to land a man on the moon, being an astronaut became a ubiquitous dream for American children. This was the era of the “Mercury Seven” and the Saturn V rocket, when the dream was fueled by live televised launches and massive national investment. The dream persisted through the early Space Shuttle era, especially with the 1983 flight of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. The 1986 Challenger disaster and the later retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 led to a decline in the career’s popularity. Just 11% of U.S. kids listed astronaut as a favored career in 2025.

While their grandparents dreamed of space, today’s kids — the ‘Artemis Generation’ — list careers like social media influencer, engineer, AI specialist and video game designer as their top choices.

Maybe that will change.

A renewed interest in NASA and space travel is evident as the Artemis II mission nears the end of its 10-day mission — the first manned orbit of the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. As with the Apollo program, Artemis II is one of several missions that will culminate in a moon landing planned for early 2028. Incidentally, the mission manager for Artemis II is Matthew Ramsey, a Mississippian who pitched for the Mississippi State baseball team as he pursued a degree in engineering in the early 1990s.

For adults, the planned return to the moon conjures up warm memories. We remember watching the blurry images of Neil Armstrong becoming the first person to step onto the moon in 1969. Astronauts like Armstrong, Alan Shepard, John Glenn and Buzz Aldrin were American heroes to rival any sports figure or movie star.

During NASA’s Space Shuttle phase, some folks in Columbus had a rare chance to see a space shuttle in person on a few occasions.

That last opportunity came on the afternoon of June 2, 2009. It was an unforgettable experience for hundreds of Air Force personnel, visitors and military family members who jockeyed for a prime view of the space shuttle Atlantis as it roared into town atop a modified Boeing 747 aircraft.

It was a two-hour refueling stop, and CAFB was chosen because it had a runway long enough to accommodate a 747 landing.

One look at Atlantis that afternoon was all it took to explain why space exploration is so awe-inspiring.

As America pursues another moon mission, we wonder if it will again inspire a new generation of kids who would rather be astronauts than almost anything else.

We raise a glass of Tang to toast Artemis II and a new era of space exploration.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.