Even though I am generally interested in science and technology, I have found it impossible to get excited about Artemis II.
-
@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.@mekkaokereke Historically, this is unfortunately true.
I would *hope* that this is not the outcome going forward. That said, there is an increasing acceptance that the future belongs to the Global South, not Europe, and that we as Europeans have a duty to engage in good faith (for once, some might add!) with said Global South.
In closing, I would add that awful regimes often arise because there is nothing to temper their awfulness.
-
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 also I find it very hard to cheer on space achievements in the context of the destruction of the only known liveable planetary ecosystem in the universe. Especially if it's the worst offenders in this area boasting the achievement.
-
Even though I am generally interested in science and technology, I have found it impossible to get excited about Artemis II.
I'm not quite sure. Maybe it's because America isn't exactly my favourite country these days because ... well, you know why. Or maybe it's because, contrary to what I'd always assumed, these things are a lot more jingoistic than I thought. It's not "Mankind is going to the moon", it's "America is beating China to the moon".
@davidnjoku Same, as someone who keenly watched the NASA TV stream of the Shuttle's final mission STS-135 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-135 – and still have the names of those four astronauts etched into my memory.
Same reasons as yours, and also repelled by the kinds of people / companies – I'm thinking of SpaceX – getting involved in space exploration.
-
Even though I am generally interested in science and technology, I have found it impossible to get excited about Artemis II.
I'm not quite sure. Maybe it's because America isn't exactly my favourite country these days because ... well, you know why. Or maybe it's because, contrary to what I'd always assumed, these things are a lot more jingoistic than I thought. It's not "Mankind is going to the moon", it's "America is beating China to the moon".
I feel the same. In my younger days I was a big fan of space travel. Hell, I've still got my scrapbook of newspaper cuttings of all the Apollo missions.
But Artemis feels different. In some ways it's a case of "hasn't that been done already?" Even the record-breaking "distance from Earth" sounds hollow - it only seems to have happened because Artemis just did a slingshot around the moon. Apollo 8's orbiting the moon seems to have been a bigger achievement - their iconic photo too.
-
I feel the same. In my younger days I was a big fan of space travel. Hell, I've still got my scrapbook of newspaper cuttings of all the Apollo missions.
But Artemis feels different. In some ways it's a case of "hasn't that been done already?" Even the record-breaking "distance from Earth" sounds hollow - it only seems to have happened because Artemis just did a slingshot around the moon. Apollo 8's orbiting the moon seems to have been a bigger achievement - their iconic photo too.
2/
I don't want to detract from the bravery of the Artemis crew. I wouldn't want to sit in a little cubicle on top of a tower of fuel that may or may not explode under control. -
2/
I don't want to detract from the bravery of the Artemis crew. I wouldn't want to sit in a little cubicle on top of a tower of fuel that may or may not explode under control.@TheLancashireman Same. They're brave, brave people. The way I feel is nothing to do with them personally.
-
Even though I am generally interested in science and technology, I have found it impossible to get excited about Artemis II.
I'm not quite sure. Maybe it's because America isn't exactly my favourite country these days because ... well, you know why. Or maybe it's because, contrary to what I'd always assumed, these things are a lot more jingoistic than I thought. It's not "Mankind is going to the moon", it's "America is beating China to the moon".
@davidnjoku Absolutely on the jingoism! I love space science but loath peopled space flight.
