I don’t like it way Elon Musk fans gush over everything Space X does… but I am excited that even with an administration and voter base that are clearly hostile to science, we can still DO science. So even though it’s not what I’d rather them do, they’re still doing science.

I mean it’s cool and I love space exploration, but at the same time, it’s something that has been done a while ago already, so it’s not that impressive. Now if they went around Mars or did something nobody did before, that would be something else. As it is it seems a bit superfluous to the phillistine that I am. I actually don’t know what the point of the mission was, I don’t think major media mentioned it (or I missed it).

I should be way more excited, but the current administration has ruined everything. NASA is too focused on creating a moon base which is dumb as shit. Let’s try and save earth before jumping ship to another planet.

I think i understand why you feel that way, it happens to me constantly. Since there is already so much hype about this, you don’t need to hype it as well. Enough hype already.

Basically, there should always be attention on every launch, but it’s not necessary that everybody obsesses over every launch. Only that somebody does. Since so many eyes are watching this mission already, you don’t feel any need to spend your time on it as well.

feeling the same. there’s so much shit in the world that the Artemis mission is barely noticeable.

to me at least and I believe many other people too, space travel seamed like an impossible magical fantasy as kids. it was fascinating and opened the door for imagination. as we became older and more aware and also as the world around us changed, like most things it became less magical and less impossible. additionally most of us especially in this modern political environment most of had unintentionally realigned their priorities. space travel sounded less utopian and magical and more dystopian and bad prioritization. also people like elon musk has just ruined it for an entire generation. I used to admire the man as a kid now everything he is involved in is just meaningless political tools and corporational greed to me.

seeing how bleak humanity’s future is and how corrupt and ruined the planet became suddenly the idea of someone going to a rock in space became less important. it also didn’t help that this event coincides with the current war in iran and gaza and the trump administration. as someone from the middle east, it felt eerie seeing the same flag that represents tyranny and murder to also represent scientific advancement and human achievement.

for me, it’s the fact that it’s being used as a political tool by the usa to broadcast their prowess, that it’s being presented as a hopeful look in the future all the while the country running this is bombing and murdering hundreds of thousands, and that the companies benefitting from artemis’s publicity are mostly “defense” contractors like spacex and lockheed-martin, aka again the same people doing all the genocide

it’s hard to feel excited about it even tho there is plenty of cool science being done, that cool science stands on a mountain of tragedy and horrors

It feels so wrong that instead of this being a momentous occasion, it feels like a distraction.

OP is Neo at dinner wondering why his steak isn’t fulfilling.

I don’t care because I got disillusioned with technology in general in recent years.

For some reason I always thought progress is objectively, exclusively positive. Now I know it depends on who wields it, just like it is with everything else in the world.

Don’t know why it took me this long to notice.

Btw the prospect of one day seeing man made lights on the moon has become revolting to me.

Because you can see it for the distraction that it is. In a vacuum it is a wonderful or at least interesting and significant thing but it is also clear that it’s just a PR stunt by the US government.

That’s not to belittle the training, dedication, preparation, and everything else that was done by all of the people around adjacent to or even inside the rocket. The indictment is not on them.

In all honesty at this stage it’s not that exciting. They’re hyping up people going further from the earth than ever before, which is technically true, but astronauts have orbited the moon before just not quite as far in absolute distance.

So this is mostly doing something done before in the 70s. Rocket launches, grainy images of the moon from close up, photos of earth from near the moon and astronauts floating in zero G isn’t new.

I don’t blame you for not getting excited to watch long videos where not a lot happens very slowly, or reading press coverage which is brutally honest largely fluff.

The ultimate goal is exciting, but that doesn’t mean every step on the way is exciting. I suspect the first moon landing will be of more interest, then the next one will not be, even though the landings are a stepping stone to Mars.

Whitey On the Moon

I feel happy for everyone taking joy in this moment. I don’t feel much of anything for it though. It’s wildly neutral.

I’m finding it hard to be happy about any of the positives coming from the US government these days. A couple of bright spots don’t really outshine the depressing everything else.