Even though I am generally interested in science and technology, I have found it impossible to get excited about Artemis II.
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Yup.
Related:
I never see any of the "I'm just excited about space progress and science!" crowd celebrating any of the Chinese space flight accomplishments.They were silent when China landed a robot on the moon a few years ago. Silent when China landed a rover on Mars. Silent about the Chinese space station that's orbiting the planet. Silent about China's crewed mission to Mars that is on schedule to depart on 2033.
When they talk about space and science and exploration being "humanity's accomplishments," it's pretty clear who they're viewing as humanity. There's an era of cold war nationalism that feels yucky.
@mekkaokereke @davidnjoku Goddamnit, I didn't even realize China landed a robot there last year and even created a small biosphere there! I'm annoyed that didn't spray across my feed then. I'm not really a space junkie beyond sci-fi enjoyment, but would have loved moon joy back then too.
For others who didn't know, h/t to @alienghic who shared a link with biosphere info:
China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout
The seeds, inside a sealed container, are the first plants ever grown on the Moon's surface.
(www.bbc.com)
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Hey that Chinese seedling sprouting on the moon was a neat experiment!
China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout
The seeds, inside a sealed container, are the first plants ever grown on the Moon's surface.
(www.bbc.com)
@alienghic This IS cool!
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@mekkaokereke @davidnjoku Goddamnit, I didn't even realize China landed a robot there last year and even created a small biosphere there! I'm annoyed that didn't spray across my feed then. I'm not really a space junkie beyond sci-fi enjoyment, but would have loved moon joy back then too.
For others who didn't know, h/t to @alienghic who shared a link with biosphere info:
China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout
The seeds, inside a sealed container, are the first plants ever grown on the Moon's surface.
(www.bbc.com)
@jonobie @mekkaokereke @davidnjoku @alienghic sounds like an episode of Space Force. #spaceforce
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@mekkaokereke @davidnjoku Goddamnit, I didn't even realize China landed a robot there last year and even created a small biosphere there! I'm annoyed that didn't spray across my feed then. I'm not really a space junkie beyond sci-fi enjoyment, but would have loved moon joy back then too.
For others who didn't know, h/t to @alienghic who shared a link with biosphere info:
China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout
The seeds, inside a sealed container, are the first plants ever grown on the Moon's surface.
(www.bbc.com)
@jonobie
Next, let's find out if Earth seeds will grow in Moon regolith. -
@jonobie
Next, let's find out if Earth seeds will grow in Moon regolith.@mrundkvist @jonobie Ferl and Paul from the University of Florida grew arabidopsis in genuine lunar regolith in 2022.
Scientists have (finally) grown plants in lunar soil! - Space Botany
More than fifty years after NASA's Apollo missions brought the first samples back to Earth, plant scientists have successfully grown plants in Moon soil (regolith).
Space Botany (spacebotany.uk)
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@mekkaokereke @davidnjoku Goddamnit, I didn't even realize China landed a robot there last year and even created a small biosphere there! I'm annoyed that didn't spray across my feed then. I'm not really a space junkie beyond sci-fi enjoyment, but would have loved moon joy back then too.
For others who didn't know, h/t to @alienghic who shared a link with biosphere info:
China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout
The seeds, inside a sealed container, are the first plants ever grown on the Moon's surface.
(www.bbc.com)
@jonobie @mekkaokereke @davidnjoku @alienghic
The cotton seed sprouting on the Moon was in 2019.
The First Shoots on the Moon - Space Botany
The hope of being able to grow plants on the Moon will last much longer than the first seedlings to sprout there.
Space Botany (spacebotany.uk)
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@jonobie @mekkaokereke @davidnjoku @alienghic
The cotton seed sprouting on the Moon was in 2019.
The First Shoots on the Moon - Space Botany
The hope of being able to grow plants on the Moon will last much longer than the first seedlings to sprout there.
Space Botany (spacebotany.uk)
@UnconventionalEmma I completely missed it at the time!
Thank you for pointing out which part of that horrendous picture was the sprout
at my house we'd been debating it. -
@UnconventionalEmma I completely missed it at the time!
Thank you for pointing out which part of that horrendous picture was the sprout at my house we'd been debating it.@ProcessParsnip Yeah, it wasn’t exactly photogenic
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Yup:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lqXHd-KaRhk
And the Chinese space station has working Hall effect ionic impulse engines, similar to how the impulse engines in Star Trek work. So it doesn't just burn rocket fuel and oxygen for propulsion. It also uses a stream of ions.
@mekkaokereke @flowerpot @davidnjoku I wish they showed the fish!
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@RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00
You've either completely missed, or completely ignored, the point of my post.
I'll say it much more bluntly, to let you react to it:
It's not "cheering for humanity" if you only cheer when Europeans or Americans do it. Instead it's a weird kind of nationalism or eurocentrism that is the opposite of what Star Trek is supposedly selling.
And it's super obvious to non-white observers how we "cheer for humanity" when Elon or NASA does something spacey, but to not even talk about it when China or India do something.
India has also landed a probe on the moon, and India has sent a probe to Mars orbit. India is the first nation to successfully enter Mars orbit on the first try. And their mission control and science and engineering teams are a lot more gender balanced than most places.
I'm saying that we should "celebrate humanity's space achievements" when they do stuff too, but I don't see that happening.
This isn't "Don't cheer for NASA." I cheer for NASA!
This is "Don't try to sell me that US space race fever, is a win for humanity, because it's not."
It's "We can have a Federation of Planets, just as long as Earth is the head of that Federation, and the US is the head of Earth, and Starfleet headquarters is in San Francisco. Anything else is Romulans!
"@mekkaokereke @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00 Basically - yes. In general - yes. But I feel, that I hesitate to cheer for china, 'cause I fear for military abuse by chinese non-democratic background. And yes, that is true now for US-activities (Nasa and private companies) as well.
And while US-space things will have military abuse in the future, Chinas space things have military design right from the start. -
@mekkaokereke @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00 Basically - yes. In general - yes. But I feel, that I hesitate to cheer for china, 'cause I fear for military abuse by chinese non-democratic background. And yes, that is true now for US-activities (Nasa and private companies) as well.
And while US-space things will have military abuse in the future, Chinas space things have military design right from the start.@Reinald but that's a completely different point... @mekkaokereke @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00
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@mekkaokereke @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00 Basically - yes. In general - yes. But I feel, that I hesitate to cheer for china, 'cause I fear for military abuse by chinese non-democratic background. And yes, that is true now for US-activities (Nasa and private companies) as well.
And while US-space things will have military abuse in the future, Chinas space things have military design right from the start.@Reinald @mekkaokereke @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00 exactly! I don't cheer for Artemis, but I more interested in ESA missions.
China is a totalitarian regime abusing human rights in many different forms. Sadly the USA is now like that too. So I don't cheer for undemocratic countries, whether they may be China, Russia, North Korea or the USA.
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@mekkaokereke @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00 Basically - yes. In general - yes. But I feel, that I hesitate to cheer for china, 'cause I fear for military abuse by chinese non-democratic background. And yes, that is true now for US-activities (Nasa and private companies) as well.
And while US-space things will have military abuse in the future, Chinas space things have military design right from the start.@Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00
I fear you might still be thinking about this in the wrong way, if you're still thinking in terms of "cheer for China" or "cheer for the EU."
Don't cheer for governments. Cheer for scientists.
And as someone born in Africa
️, the EU was, is, and is likely to still be a much greater and more abusive military threat than China. Like, it's not close. -
@Reinald @mekkaokereke @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00 exactly! I don't cheer for Artemis, but I more interested in ESA missions.
China is a totalitarian regime abusing human rights in many different forms. Sadly the USA is now like that too. So I don't cheer for undemocratic countries, whether they may be China, Russia, North Korea or the USA.
@s1m0n4 @Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00
mekka okereke :verified: (@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io)
@Reinald@nrw.social @RunRichRun@mastodon.social @cyberlyra @davidnjoku@mastodon.world @piquant00@mastodon.online I fear you might still be thinking about this in the wrong way, if you're still thinking in terms of "cheer for China" or "cheer for the EU." Don't cheer for governments. Cheer for scientists. And as someone born in Africa 🙋🏿♂️, the EU was, is, and is likely to still be a much greater and more abusive military threat than China. Like, it's not close.
Hachyderm.io (hachyderm.io)
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@s1m0n4 @Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00
mekka okereke :verified: (@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io)
@Reinald@nrw.social @RunRichRun@mastodon.social @cyberlyra @davidnjoku@mastodon.world @piquant00@mastodon.online I fear you might still be thinking about this in the wrong way, if you're still thinking in terms of "cheer for China" or "cheer for the EU." Don't cheer for governments. Cheer for scientists. And as someone born in Africa 🙋🏿♂️, the EU was, is, and is likely to still be a much greater and more abusive military threat than China. Like, it's not close.
Hachyderm.io (hachyderm.io)
@mekkaokereke @Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00 Scientists in a dictatorship exclusively suit the interests of the dictator. I'm not pointing fingers at them, it's not their fault trying to make a living, however I can't cheer for them.
As for EU's military, it doesn't yet exist as a unified power. Each MS has its own military and they're are generally weaker than the US or China's. -
@mekkaokereke @Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00 Scientists in a dictatorship exclusively suit the interests of the dictator. I'm not pointing fingers at them, it's not their fault trying to make a living, however I can't cheer for them.
As for EU's military, it doesn't yet exist as a unified power. Each MS has its own military and they're are generally weaker than the US or China's.@s1m0n4 @Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00
And again, from the perspective of an African born person, the EU governments are most definitely a dictatorship, and have never not been since colonization.
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@s1m0n4 @Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00
And again, from the perspective of an African born person, the EU governments are most definitely a dictatorship, and have never not been since colonization.
@mekkaokereke @Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00 France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and Italy have a colonialist past and are guilty of horrible crimes in the African continent. Each one to a different extent, I might say.
That's 7 countries out of 27, though 4 of them are the most populous.Analysing the current situation, China is influencing African economies little by little. And the USA are making deals to run eugenics experiments on black people
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@mekkaokereke @Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00 France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and Italy have a colonialist past and are guilty of horrible crimes in the African continent. Each one to a different extent, I might say.
That's 7 countries out of 27, though 4 of them are the most populous.Analysing the current situation, China is influencing African economies little by little. And the USA are making deals to run eugenics experiments on black people
@s1m0n4 @Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00
"China is influencing African economies little by little."
I didn't say influencing economies. I said colonizing.
European people genuinely think that China doing trade and paying for things, is the same as how Europeans treat Africans. It is absolutely not the same. Not even close.
In Belgium today I can still buy chocolate hands. Because King Leopold murdered 10 million people, and maimed countless more. If you did not collect enough rubber, his men would take your children and cut their hands off. (Belgians, don't try to talk about Druon Antigoon or Hand Werpen. That's not when the chocolates hands became popular).
And Europeans abusing and exploiting Africans hasn't stopped. Margaret Thatcher's son was caught trying to overthrow a democratically elected African government in 2004.
Europeans talk about nuclear power as clean green energy, but don't like to talk about the fact that most European countries have no uranium, so where do they get the uranium from, and how? Because then you have to talk about Patrick Lumumba's tooth,.and how many Africans have died in the Congo and then Niger, and why can't Africa seem to have a stable, elected government, and why are these countries poor if their minerals are so valuable?
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@s1m0n4 @Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00
"China is influencing African economies little by little."
I didn't say influencing economies. I said colonizing.
European people genuinely think that China doing trade and paying for things, is the same as how Europeans treat Africans. It is absolutely not the same. Not even close.
In Belgium today I can still buy chocolate hands. Because King Leopold murdered 10 million people, and maimed countless more. If you did not collect enough rubber, his men would take your children and cut their hands off. (Belgians, don't try to talk about Druon Antigoon or Hand Werpen. That's not when the chocolates hands became popular).
And Europeans abusing and exploiting Africans hasn't stopped. Margaret Thatcher's son was caught trying to overthrow a democratically elected African government in 2004.
Europeans talk about nuclear power as clean green energy, but don't like to talk about the fact that most European countries have no uranium, so where do they get the uranium from, and how? Because then you have to talk about Patrick Lumumba's tooth,.and how many Africans have died in the Congo and then Niger, and why can't Africa seem to have a stable, elected government, and why are these countries poor if their minerals are so valuable?
@s1m0n4 @Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00
And the countries that you listed are ~70% of the EU's GDP, and ~65% of the EU's population.
So the whole "At least EU is not a brutal dictatorship!
" only holds if you don't see Africans as whole, actualized, human beings, but rather as cattle to be milked, mutilated, and eaten by real human beings. -
@s1m0n4 @Reinald @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00
And the countries that you listed are ~70% of the EU's GDP, and ~65% of the EU's population.
So the whole "At least EU is not a brutal dictatorship!
" only holds if you don't see Africans as whole, actualized, human beings, but rather as cattle to be milked, mutilated, and eaten by real human beings.@mekkaokereke @s1m0n4 @RunRichRun @cyberlyra @davidnjoku @piquant00 Neither China nor Russia nor US nor Europe is dealing with African countries on eye level. And, as shameful as the History is for Europe, we are not doing that much better now. Still.
Nevertheless I am not that sure, if the deals with China are a beneficial deal in the long run, or will create a different dependency and exploitation?
