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This is the moment Ben Leo was moved to tears as he watched Artemis II blast off alongside his son, Jude.Ben was on the ground in Cape Canaveral - alongside some 400,000 others - to witness the Nasa mission set off on its journey to the Moon.As the rocket soared into the sky, the Late Show Live host was visibly emotional - while Jude cheered as he sat in his father's arms."It was like a rolling stream of thunder which gripped your body," he later said of the sheer sound of the take-off.Ben, who had been awake for 24 hours to cover the launch, went on to tell GB News Breakfast exactly what happened in Florida.WATCH THE CLIP ABOVE FOR MORE
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Well, joining us live from Florida is GB News presenter Ben Leo
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Morning to you, Ben. Thank you so much for staying up for us
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How are you feeling? What a moment it was for you. You've been up for almost 24 hours, haven't you
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And I've heard it was very, very emotional. Yes, thank you. Good morning to you. Hope you're well
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It was an amazing day, one for the memory books. One day, I and the 400,000 people who lined the Florida beaches and streets here
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just opposite the Kennedy Space Center, I'm not sure if you can see it illuminated in all its glory behind me
0:30
It was incredible. It was a moment in human history. As you said, Ellie, it's the first time we've been back to the moon in more than 50 years
0:38
And if you like, it was a dress rehearsal. I know it was that you or Stephen who just mentioned not boots on the ground on the lunar surface just yet
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but this is being described as a stepping stone to 2028, hopefully Artemis 4
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where for the first time in decades, we will have human footprints back on the lunar surface again
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And it was historic today because it was the furthest humans have ever travelled into space on Artemis 2
1:04
Four people on board four brave heroes and astronauts And just all in all to summarise after what has been an exhausting but as i said an incredible 24 hours it kind of puts into significance a how irrelevant humans are really in the vast
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grandness of space there's a really infamous picture called the pale blue dot taken by
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the voyager space probe that we launched into deep space years ago and it translates as just
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a tiny pixel on a computer screen so all the wars all the politics the devices of opinions
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of the day-to-day anxieties that is kind of transcended by that kind of endeavor that human
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ambition into the stars and beyond to take human consciousness into the cosmos so it's very very
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humbling indeed i dread to think what the astronauts themselves are thinking right now because this is only just the beginning it's day one of a 10-day mission to the far side of the moon they'll
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slingshot around the back of the moon before eventually coming back to earth with lots of
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tests and data under their belt preparing for 2028. I think we have a little clip of me and
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lucky enough my boy Jude was with me as well to witness history a couple
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of hours ago. Let's take a quick look at that and I'll catch up with you in a sec. Yes
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Come on I getting emotional It like a rumble of thunder Whoa
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They're going to the moon, James! Yeah! There we go. A little bit cringey, but at least it was caught on camera
2:39
I have to say it was incredible. Nothing I say to you now would articulate or justify just how amazing it was
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Primarily, I mean, the visuals. Looking at the rocket, it was the most powerful and biggest rocket NASA has ever produced for this mission
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And because we're around 10 miles from the Kennedy Space Center, it took around 30 to 40 seconds for the speed of sound to reach us
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And it was like a rolling stream of thunder just making its way into mainland Florida
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And it actually shook your chest and your bones. So it just added to the excitement, to the atmosphere as well
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And the visuals, because that rocket is the most powerful we've ever seen from NASA
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it was like a supernova star exploding in front of your eyes
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I made many new friends down off the coast of the Kennedy Space Centre
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including this chap here, Mark Marquette, who runs the American Space Museum
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Take a look. I'm here with Mark Marquette. You run the American Space Museum Mark just a few blocks away I do my privilege You just seen one of the most historic launches in human history space launches Just your initial reaction to what you seen It was fantastic
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I've seen quite a few launches, and this was amazing one I'll always remember
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Amazing because the flame was so bright in the daylight, you know
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And then the solid rocket boosters, that smoke always makes a great effect
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But it was, the crowd was what here. You saw the crowd. This is the most people have been here since 1998 when John Glenn was launched
4:05
Really? Is that true? Yeah, that is. They'll be at the moon in what, nine or nine days, eight days or something like that
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It takes three days to get there. Monday is when they'll be at the backside of the moon and furthest away
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Are you proud to be an American? You bet. Are you proud to be a human being today
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I'm proud to be an earthling that is trying to get off this planet. I'm a baby boomer
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I've seen the whole space program. this is what we need to light the fire under americans and the world to see what great things
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we can do with this technology fantastic ben i can only say i'm extremely jealous that you've
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managed to see that go and rest because i know you i know you're absolutely exhausted but thank
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you very much indeed and say hi to jude for us you lucky devil thank you
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