We are living in a world in which space travel has become commonplace. Such voyages no longer command the attention of the public the way they did in the past. We have to admit, however, that our hearts did skip a beat with the landing of Discovery on Tuesday.

For more than a week we have watched and listened as the astronauts assessed the damage and then repaired their space craft. The question was whether the repairs were enough to overcome the danger of their reentry into the atmosphere. And, it pointed out that while have learned much about exploring the skies, we have much more to learn.

With prayers and hopes and a breath of relief, the Discovery made the smoothest of landings shortly after 8 a.m. our time. Its touchdown during the predawn hours in California was a gift from the Creator whose work they traversed and who welcomed them and then sent them back home to us, safe and sound. There’s nothing commonplace about that.