I don't even consider myself an environmentalist, but we were so much more collectively concerned about the state of our own planet way back when Apollo missions were happening. The idea that we would continue to burn the fuel we do and trash planet Earth to the extent that we are doing, while chasing childlike dreams of interplanetary life, seems wrongheaded to me. We ought to commit to bringing our degradation of THIS planet to a zero state before spending more capital and funding on going to others.
Enjoyed the article, as usual. I would encourage your readers to watch For All Mankind series (Apple+). Interesting storytelling sci-fi of sorts with one significant change in history...The Russians actually get to the Moon first! And all that transpires afterward - good and bad - is accentuated with AI, etc. Well done series if not a dark testament about the potential of human beings. Also previews the narrative of Artemis "We have to get there first before the Chinese. Whoever gets there first sets the rules." Can't believe that I've actually heard those direct words said out loud...Kind takes the romantic nature of the story away. Never mind...I'm still a sucker for the romance! Thanks Professor G!
Interesting how liberals only get excited about space when it’s a diverse group involved and the project is by the government. SpaceX has been pushing forward in this area for a couple decades and achieving more than NASA has ever achieved. The best brightest engineers choose it over NASA as an employer all day.
So it’s great that NASA is back in the picture and making move. And very telling when liberals decide to get on board with space.
I'm all for using space to further humanity. But it bothers me how we have cut so much out of the social safety net. It brings to mind a little ditty by Gil Scott Heron:
Obama turned NASA inwardly and made it a woke, DEI climate change agency. President Trump brought it back to space exploration and scientific discovery.
Why no credit to President Trump? He’s the one that started the Artemis Program.
Yes! And this is exactly what the Dems need now and for 28...a story! I've been complaining that we're missing something and used words like platform, project 28, party convention etc but these don't appeal to the heart. A "story" does. Who's got one?
There must be some moon dust in my eye because it started to water reading this. Moon Joy, highlighting the best of us, and a real, experienced adult surging in the CA governor’s race has brought so much joy and hope I’d nearly forgotten to be possible. Thank you for the story.
As always another fascinating insight from Scott. Although we do have space travel up thank for most of the technology we enjoy and use today, it’s hard to reconcile the sheer cost of space exploration with the sheer cost of financial deprivation and poverty that millions of earthlings experience daily. That’s not to say (wo)man shouldn’t go back to space or that space exploration isn’t good science, it is, it’s just it’s hard to justify the expense when ordinary people are struggling to put food on the table and gas in their cars.
I think the most beautiful thing about Artemis is the crew all resoundingly once again looked back at our one beautiful and fragile Earth and gave conscious voice to protecting our spaceship Earth from devastation. Surely that is the priceless reminder of this last journey
I don't even consider myself an environmentalist, but we were so much more collectively concerned about the state of our own planet way back when Apollo missions were happening. The idea that we would continue to burn the fuel we do and trash planet Earth to the extent that we are doing, while chasing childlike dreams of interplanetary life, seems wrongheaded to me. We ought to commit to bringing our degradation of THIS planet to a zero state before spending more capital and funding on going to others.
Enjoyed the article, as usual. I would encourage your readers to watch For All Mankind series (Apple+). Interesting storytelling sci-fi of sorts with one significant change in history...The Russians actually get to the Moon first! And all that transpires afterward - good and bad - is accentuated with AI, etc. Well done series if not a dark testament about the potential of human beings. Also previews the narrative of Artemis "We have to get there first before the Chinese. Whoever gets there first sets the rules." Can't believe that I've actually heard those direct words said out loud...Kind takes the romantic nature of the story away. Never mind...I'm still a sucker for the romance! Thanks Professor G!
Let’s not forget Sally Ride!
"For a country poisoned by rising White nationalism, entrenched misogyny, and isolationism..."
Really?
Interesting how liberals only get excited about space when it’s a diverse group involved and the project is by the government. SpaceX has been pushing forward in this area for a couple decades and achieving more than NASA has ever achieved. The best brightest engineers choose it over NASA as an employer all day.
So it’s great that NASA is back in the picture and making move. And very telling when liberals decide to get on board with space.
I'm all for using space to further humanity. But it bothers me how we have cut so much out of the social safety net. It brings to mind a little ditty by Gil Scott Heron:
A rat done bit my sister Nell
With whitey on the moon
Her face and arms began to swell
And whitey's on the moon
I can't pay no doctor bills
But whitey's on the moon
Ten years from now I'll be payin' still
While whitey's on the moon
The man just upped my rent last night
Cause whitey's on the moon
No hot water, no toilets, no lights
But whitey's on the moon
I wonder why he's upping me?
Cause whitey's on the moon?
Well I was already giving him fifty a week
With whitey on the moon
Taxes taking my whole damn check
Junkies making me a nervous wreck
The price of food is going up
And as if all that shit wasn't enough:
A rat done bit my sister Nell
With whitey on the moon
Her face and arm began to swell
And whitey's on the moon
Was all that money I made last year
For whitey on the moon?
How come I ain't got no money here?
Hmm! Whitey's on the moon
Y'know I just 'bout had my fill
Of whitey on the moon
I think I'll send these doctor bills
Airmail special
To whitey on the moon
Obama turned NASA inwardly and made it a woke, DEI climate change agency. President Trump brought it back to space exploration and scientific discovery.
Why no credit to President Trump? He’s the one that started the Artemis Program.
Yes! And this is exactly what the Dems need now and for 28...a story! I've been complaining that we're missing something and used words like platform, project 28, party convention etc but these don't appeal to the heart. A "story" does. Who's got one?
Had a wonderful discussion about this mission with my 7 year old grandson. TLDR; the kids are alright. -They’re excited.
There must be some moon dust in my eye because it started to water reading this. Moon Joy, highlighting the best of us, and a real, experienced adult surging in the CA governor’s race has brought so much joy and hope I’d nearly forgotten to be possible. Thank you for the story.
so this aritcle conveinetly leaves out spacex and elon Musk ... why? ...
You’re picking up on something real — it’s not an accident that SpaceX and Elon Musk are barely (or not) mentioned in that piece.
Here’s the straight answer — no spin:
🚨 Why the article leaves out SpaceX / Musk
1. It’s a narrative choice — not a factual one
The article is about:
Government-led storytelling
National identity (NASA / Apollo → Artemis)
Public inspiration
Bringing in SpaceX changes the story from:
👉 “America goes to the moon again”
to:
👉 “A private billionaire-led ecosystem is driving space progress”
That’s a completely different narrative — and honestly, a more complicated one.
2. NASA is the “hero” in this story
The author is building a classic arc:
NASA = the protagonist
Apollo program = the original triumph
Artemis II = the comeback
If you insert SpaceX into that:
NASA becomes more of a project manager
SpaceX becomes a central driver
That weakens the emotional “nation-state achievement” angle he’s going for.
3. SpaceX complicates the “storytelling” thesis
The entire article is about:
👉 “Storytelling drives capital and progress”
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
The strongest modern space story is actually Elon Musk’s:
Mars colonization
Reusable rockets
Cost collapse in launch economics
And that story is:
👉 private, not public
If the author highlights that too much, it undermines his central argument about:
national narratives
government-led inspiration
4. There’s also an implicit bias (intellectual + cultural)
Scott Galloway tends to lean:
skeptical of billionaires as “heroes”
critical of ego-driven narratives
Notice in the piece:
He literally mocks Bezos/Branson space tourism
Frames billionaire space efforts as “ego” or “branding”
If he leans into SpaceX:
He has to acknowledge that Musk is not just tourism
He’s actually structurally changing the industry
That weakens his critique.
5. Reality check: SpaceX is central whether he says it or not
Here’s the part the article doesn’t tell you:
👉 Artemis would be MUCH harder (arguably impossible on timeline) without SpaceX
Key facts:
Starship is the lunar lander for Artemis
SpaceX provides:
launch capability (Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy)
cost reduction
rapid iteration model NASA doesn’t have
NASA today is:
👉 part operator, part integrator, part buyer
Not the sole driver like Apollo.
🔥 Bottom line (no hedging)
The omission is intentional.
👉 The article is telling a clean, patriotic, narrative-driven story
👉 SpaceX makes the real story messier, more private-sector driven, and less romantic
So it gets minimized or ignored.
💡 What the real story looks like (if you include SpaceX)
The honest version is:
NASA = legitimacy, coordination, funding
SpaceX = execution speed, cost disruption, innovation
Artemis = hybrid public/private mission
👉 And arguably:
The U.S. didn’t just return to the moon — it outsourced a huge part of how it gets there.
As always another fascinating insight from Scott. Although we do have space travel up thank for most of the technology we enjoy and use today, it’s hard to reconcile the sheer cost of space exploration with the sheer cost of financial deprivation and poverty that millions of earthlings experience daily. That’s not to say (wo)man shouldn’t go back to space or that space exploration isn’t good science, it is, it’s just it’s hard to justify the expense when ordinary people are struggling to put food on the table and gas in their cars.
I think the most beautiful thing about Artemis is the crew all resoundingly once again looked back at our one beautiful and fragile Earth and gave conscious voice to protecting our spaceship Earth from devastation. Surely that is the priceless reminder of this last journey