I feel I need to say something about Artemis as a former NASA employee, Space scientist and engineer.

[samanthajanesmith@lgbtqia.space]

I feel I need to say something about Artemis as a former NASA employee, Space scientist and engineer.

I hope more than anything that the astronauts get back safely. But let us not be fooled by what this is.

Is it spectacular, yes. Is it a feat of engineering, yes. Does it make any advance in science, no. Does it help mankind explore the universe, dubious at best.

Why exactly are we sending humans to the moon? With our technology we will never send humans much further than Mars. The only way humans can possibly go further is through a scientific breakthrough. Good luck with that when Trump is gutting science.

Human exploration needs money spent on long-term advances - not using the same technology to do what we did before, however, glamorous it is.

So why do this and why do it now? Political theatre, a win for a Trump led NASA if it succeeds.

So I hope all works well and all return safely. But let us be clear what this is and why it is being done.

This is my opinion, I do not represent anyone.

[paranoiapen@mas.to]

@SamanthaJaneSmith surely in the midst of a war over the last few drops of oil in the world this is nothing but disgusting?

[drorbedrack@mastodon.social]

@SamanthaJaneSmith Theater is also impotant if you want to encourage the political will.
Yes, there are better things we can do. But this is also a good thing. It gives me some hope.
Also, it's good to dust off the old tech from time time. To make sure it's not forgotten.

[martinlentink@mastodon.social]

@SamanthaJaneSmith I am of the same opinion. Let's fund science, not theatrics.

[samanthajanesmith@lgbtqia.space]

@paranoiapen Well the two things have always been decoupled to some level, although the rationale for manned spaceflight has always been defence. The US is in space not because it's good for humanity but because of military interests and the glory of the US of A.

It is always part of military or cultural domination at the political, funding level. Politicians know of nothing else.

It must also be said that the US is not the only country that acts this way.

[raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie]

@SamanthaJaneSmith
Unless we invent a radically new technology, particularly the probably impossible solution to travelling to the stars in a generation ship, sending humans to the Moon, Mars or Jupiter's moons is pointless. Do as much science sending machines at a tiny fraction of the cost.
No point to a Moon or Mars base either.

[tubemeister@mstdn.social]

@SamanthaJaneSmith It's a nice revival.

Summer of 69...

The US is going to the moon, is involved in a war they're going to lose, and there's a crook in the white house.

[gimulnautti@mastodon.green]

@SamanthaJaneSmith Yes it’s all theatre.

But most of all it’s authoritarianism. It’s spectacle, of ”look what you get by being on my team!”

It power that doesn’t have any other aims than power itself. That’s it.

[dick_turpin@mastodon.org.uk]

@SamanthaJaneSmith This has nothing to do with "Getting to Mars" or expanding space travel, and everything to do with land grab.

They're going to the side of the moon that cannot be seen from Earth, perfect for ensuring nobody can physically see what you are up to. NASA has already said it intends to build a base on the moon, and let's not forget why NASA was created. It was created in response to the Russians and Sputnik. Now, America is in a new race with China just about everywhere.

[synth@mas.to]

@SamanthaJaneSmith how is it political theater for a specific admin if it has spanned multiple?

[ghostdancer@mastodon.sdf.org]

@raymaccarthy @SamanthaJaneSmith This is the main reason, the race is on again: https://phys.org/news/2026-03-moon-china.html

[raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie]

@ghostdancer @SamanthaJaneSmith
Ego.

[ghostdancer@mastodon.sdf.org]

@raymaccarthy That too. @SamanthaJaneSmith

[samanthajanesmith@lgbtqia.space]

@dick_turpin I didn't even get into the rationale behind manned space as a whole. Too long a post.

But we know the US military wants to know about dominating space.

[connynasch@mastodon.social]

@Tubemeister @SamanthaJaneSmith History repeats - but maybe the NASA guys will come to the EU and take part in ESA?

[dick_turpin@mastodon.org.uk]

@SamanthaJaneSmith I suspect you know more than me but I beleive the moon is a dead planet. All this talk of ice and minerals is a load of old rubbish, but the Russians have proved humans can survive in space for a long time with Mir, so building a structure on the moon is probably trivial by comparison.

Imagine the horror that would sweep through America if NBC broadcast images of the Chinese flag on the moon?

[samanthajanesmith@lgbtqia.space]

@synth Politicians in all parties since spaceflight began have used NASA as a means to push their own political ambitions and to get support for their vision of America. Often to the detriment of both astronauts and the country as a whole. An example was the political decision surrounding the SRBs on the shuttle program. Lives were lost due to politics.

At no point did I say that only Trump does this or has done this. I didn't get into much of the political rational behind funding spaceflight, particularly manned, but it's really only about control and domination of space. The politicians and funders don't give a damn about engineering and science. Those are by products of the drive to control space.

Manned spaceflight is a product of this desire and is therefore a show that is very useful to politicians and at this time specifically Trump. If another person was in the white house and this was happening I would say the same. But what makes it worse now is that Trump is gutting the rest of NASA, at least in the past science has survived. So more than ever it is now a show for the public while NASA is prepared for it's demise.

[n0tsure@mastodon.social]

@SamanthaJaneSmith Yet another desperate attempt at denying the complete failure of a dying economic system to advance mankind.

[arazil@elvenstar.cafe]

@SamanthaJaneSmith I have been feeling much the same way. It seems like a pointless spectacle to distract people from the problems happening at home. I guess I would be more enthusiastic about it if there were some actual tangible benefit to it other than the space colonization angle. It is hard to be enthusiastic about Team USA when the government is operating as a highly destructive anti-science criminal enterprise.

[naturemc@mastodon.online]

@Tubemeister so lets repeat history with the 1968 revolution and the anti-war protests! @SamanthaJaneSmith