"The Administrator could have said 'I've got other things to do," and we ought to take it as a great honor... that the only places he is going to be while Artemis is in space is at Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center... and Kansas," said Kansas Senator Jerry Moran.

Isaacman joined Moran for a tour of the museum, a place Moran says comes with the stamp of approval from four Artemis astronauts.

"The commander that's in space right now said, 'Senator, you do know that you have the best space museum in the world, in Kansas?'" Moran recalled.

On the same day as Isaacman's visit, those astronauts on Artemis II want to the far side of the moon, and will circle back around.

"But we're not celebrating until they're safe under parachutes and splashing down in the Pacific," said Isaacman.

Isaacman grasped the shears and sliced through a bright red ribbon, re-opening a renovated Hall of Space Museum inside the Cosmosphere.

"The Cosmosphere tells the story of the last time NASA took on the challenge of competing against a great rival -- a space race. It reminds us of what we can achieve," said Isaacman. "We can go higher, we can go faster and farther and take on the near impossible missions that change the world. Places like the Cosmosphere help the next generation start to believe again."

Moran says Isaacman is the third NASA Administrator to visit the Hutchinson attraction.

"We're so spoiled... this is Hutchinson, Kansas, and you can come and see this every single day. The fact that we have the NASA Administrator here, the fact that [Gerald] Griffin is here today... we have astronauts coming through here all the time. We have one of the remaining moonwalkers coming in this October -- that's just a unique, unbelievable opportunity, and it happens here all the time," said Foundation Board Chair David Neal.

Moran adds with a sentiment: "There is no better place than Kansas for the state motto to be 'To the stars through difficulty... Ad astra per aspera'"

Moran and Isaacman also made a stop at the National Center for Aviation Training in east Wichita before Isaacman's return flight.

The visit was alongside more tours and conversation with local aerospace manufacturers who contributed to the Artemis II rocket and space capsule.

There, Isaacman said NASA has hopes to launch rockets to the moon annually, not every three years as currently anticipated.

"Hopefully, this is a good challenge for the industry," said Isaacman. "From what we're hearing so far, everybody's responding well to the challenge."

Isaacman says, for months, he knew he would be making a stop in Kansas -- depending on a successful launch.

"The public-private partnership that takes place, our efforts in space, private companies working with NASA, is one of the reasons that we're promoting space work in Kansas," said Moran.

Moran notes that when it comes to space, there's work to be done -- and it's work Kansas has to offer.

This moment in time, both Moran and Isaacman suggest, is a celebration of a new chapter in the story of space exploration.