Four astronauts are on a journey around the moon, a mission that offers a rare chance to see our world from a distance, and ourselves more clearly.

One of the reasons people appreciate travel is that it offers a different perspective on home. Distance has a way of recalibrating what actually is important.

Now imagine gaining such a perspective from deep in space.

The United States is sending astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. Artemis II blasted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1, kicking off an approximately 10-day trip around the moon before a return to Earth. If all goes to plan, the four-person crew will travel more than 685,000 miles. Already, they have surpassed the distance record set during the Apollo era, traveling farther from Earth than any humans before them.

Victor Glover, one of the Artemis II crew, is quickly becoming something of a spacefaring philosopher.

“I think, as we go into Easter Sunday, 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 got to get through this together,” Glover told CBS News on Sunday.

It’s a welcome message. We’ve spent years focusing on what makes us different, growing angrier at neighbors and strangers alike for not sharing our views on politics, religion and an ever-widening range of other cultural touchstones. It has become easier to sort ourselves into camps than to see what we share.

Artemis II’s crew brings together a group of four explorers from different parts of North America — from Maryland to California to North Carolina — and different backgrounds, including American NASA astronauts Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch. Astronaut Jeremy Hansen will become the first Canadian to go around the moon.

Yet footage has shown their shared bond aboard the ship, along with their zero-gravity indicator plushie, a moon-shaped creation called “Rise,” inspired by the Apollo 8 “Earthrise” moment. We watched as the astronauts embraced after naming a moon crater “Carroll,” after Wiseman’s late wife, who died from cancer leaving the astronaut as a single dad of two daughters.

Adults and kids alike have been captivated by this mission and these human stories. They remind us that while we may feel bogged down by the weight of earthly difficulties and challenges, humans are capable of adventure, exploration and the pursuit of knowledge that will shape and benefit future generations.

Some of the stated goals of the mission include “preparing humanity to live and work on the Moon,” a stepping stone for future trips elsewhere — to Mars. As NASA often puts it, “science enables exploration, and exploration enables science.” It’s a reminder that missions like Artemis II are not just symbolic, but expand what humanity knows and what it is capable of doing next. Artemis is about growth and advancement, setting records and charting new territory, very much in keeping with America’s pioneering history and spirit.

Glover’s message hearkened back to the Apollo 8 crew in 1968, when crew members joined together on Christmas Eve to read from the Book of Genesis.

Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to leave Earth’s orbit, reach the Moon, orbit it and return safely. This mission, too, took place during a tumultuous period in U.S. history marked by war, social and political upheaval. Before this first trip to the moon, the nation mourned the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.

At a moment when the Middle East feels aflame, four people looking back at this planet from deep space didn’t see borders.

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