Space loos, lunar exploitation and colonial escapism: The Artemis II mission
Dr. A Moon mission disguised as a human triumph reveals itself as a flashy rehearsal for American-led space colonialism, complete with billion-dollar bravado and a $23 million toilet spotlight, writes Binoy Kampmark.
THE EARTH is in a terrible state, but humanity, locked in laboratories full of energy and force, glued to screens and performing tests on conditions in space, has another reason to cheer.
Between 1-11 April, Artemis II It passed by the Moon and returned safely. Newsletters, livestreams, and podcasts have given it a saturated scope and coverage. This was the first crewed Moon mission in over fifty years. A sign, then, of the big claims, the exaggerated hopes, and the stupidity of it all.
Absurdly, this effort is heralded as a collective effort of humanity, despite its idiosyncratic NASA references; This is another example of the crude patriotism that has become subservient to scientific endeavor. This is an American business, and it will be valued alongside expensive patriotic missions launched by any number of States that believe the dark side of the moon is the next big thing in competition and exploitation.
President Donald Trump Executive Order December 2025 promises ‘America’s space superiority’The Artemis Program is scheduled to return ‘Americans will go to the Moon by 2028… Defending America’s leadership in space, laying the foundations for lunar development, preparing for a journey to Mars, and inspiring the next generation of American explorers.’.
It is also useful to consider this expression By NASA administrator Jared Isaacman Made in March:
“NASA is determined to once again accomplish the nearly impossible to return to the Moon, build a lunar base, establish a permanent presence, and do other things needed to ensure American leadership before the end of President Trump’s term.”
There’s nothing more about humanity here than a bald MAGA confession:
“The clock is ticking in this great power competition, and success and failure will be measured in months, not years.”
To complete the triple example, Sean DuffyWhile serving as NASA administrator, he did not shy away from the messianic enthusiasm of the American space program. One internal staff briefing At a conference last year, he was clear that before the US could attempt to land on Mars, it needed to reach the Moon before China. This was very natural, because his country ‘Show your destiny to the stars’.
Colonial pursuits are often preceded by a spirit of discovery, economic discovery, and inquiry. Then comes confiscation, brazen theft, usurpation wrapped in the cheerful wrapping of blood, civilization and empire. Fortunately in this case there are no indigenous people to destroy, no existing human culture to destroy. This destruction will take the form of great powers competing over rare mineral lands as an exercise in colonial escape.
Much of the mission was reduced to soap opera mundanities and focal points of complete insignificance, as casual viewers would have no idea or insight into the finer details of the trip. In some cases, it was even worse than a soap opera screaming for a definitive asteroid ending. Mundane details were presented about toilet malfunctions; This was important because people associated them with the familiarity of feces and urine.
NASA clarified On April 2:
‘Working closely with mission control in Houston, the Artemis II crew was able to return the Orion spacecraft’s lavatory to normal operations following the proximity operations demonstration.’
And that toilet that cost 23 million dollars It is said to be The second most valuable toilet system ever built. We are also told with casual certainty that all toilets in space tend to have malfunctions of some kind, which will no doubt give rise to a thousand theses about excreta in due course, providing comfortable comfort. University exam boards can look forward to overdrafting.
Moving elements on the spacecraft were also the source of several bromide observations. Nutella got what it wanted with hazelnut spread evaluated by the press aspect “The best free advertising in history”He was floating around, barely noticed by the crew – although he was spotted on live television.
PRWeek declared:
‘When Artemis II broke Apollo 13’s distance record of 248,655 miles from Earth on Monday [April 6]‘This was one small step for mankind… One giant leap for Nutella’s marketing team.’
It’s also nice to note that Nutella was founded in 1964, the same year NASA successfully completed its first lunar mission. Ranger 7.
As for the global public interest, NASA and those in the business of filming its adventures in space need to be reminded of a rather inconvenient truth. Dark, even slightly sadistic voyeurism is never far from such tasks. Unfeeling spectators are the unfeeling type and look for joy in shock. Exaggerated by experts, media outlets are trying to inject drama about what could happen to the crew if communication is lost for several hours. They must definitely succeed. Definitely.
But in such messages the sickening voyeurism is heavy, a thanatotic impulse. ‘As astronauts pass behind the Moon at around 23:47 BST (18:47 EDT) on Monday, the radio and laser signals that allow back-and-forth communication between the spacecraft and Earth will be blocked by the Moon itself.’ came gentle observation From BBC.
But he couldn’t resist the gag platitudes:
‘For approximately 40 minutes, the four astronauts will be alone, each traveling through the darkness of space with their own thoughts and feelings. A moment of deep loneliness and silence.’
It’s a very different reading of what it means to be “alone”, let alone lonely.
The press conference given by the crew upon their return to Earth was sweet, charmless and indescribable, suggesting that space travel can narrow the mind. There was a mandatory carpet crawling extortion law for NASA’s management. There was a lot of nonsense about team initiative, the insufferable jargon of organizational teamwork.
The astronaut with emetic faith Jeremy Hanson He went so far as to call the crew a “joy squad” and claim those people “Don’t always do great things. We don’t always have our integrity, but our default is to be good and be good to each other.”
Another crew member suggested that Earth was a “dream ship” (interestingly, China’s own ship). spacecraft The name of the ship for exploration on the Moon is Mengzhou or Dream Vessel), and the Artemis team was nothing but a mirror for humanity. (Some crew, some mirror.)
Artemis II commander Reid WisemanHe looked so confused along with the rest of the crew. misidentify This proto-colonial effort to unite the fractious human species:
“We wanted to go out and try to do something that would bring the world together, unite the world.”
Astronaut Christina Koch She talked about her husband’s reassuring words “made a difference” overcoming divisions. Other rival nation-states are unlikely to agree, let alone care about such nonsense.
From a logistical, mechanical and engineering perspective, the Artemis II mission can be seen as dazzling, surprising and impressive; Humanity has once again demonstrated its ability to reject nature’s limitations, to thwart it, so to speak, by going into areas where it has no natural right to be. We may be affected in this regard.
But for everything else, it’s best to return to Earth’s problems, which still need solutions, no matter what clear-eyed space colonists may claim.
Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Cambridge Scholar and currently teaches. RMIT University. You can follow Dr Kampmark on Twitter. @BKampmark.
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