Statistically, americans love space. Anecdotally, they hate it when billionaires go there. Majorities of all parties, genders, and geographies tell pollsters they support U.S. missions to the moon and Mars, and three-quarters say that the effort to land the first men on the moon was worth it. But last year, when the big three spacefaring billionaires-Virgin's Richard Branson, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Tesla's Elon Musk-managed successful manned missions in rapid succession, Twitter (and Congress) were bursting with rage.
Every corner of the internet was filled with the same hot takes. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made a choleric announcement, for example, that "it’s time to tax the billionaires” because "here on Earth, in the richest country on the planet, half our people live paycheck to paycheck, people are struggling to feed themselves, struggling to see a doctor—but hey, the richest guys in the world are off in outer space!” This tweet from a self-described anti-capitalist went viral: "I actually don’t think we’re angry enough about rich people going to space while the world burns.” Another Twitter user requested in poem form that "perhaps billionaires/Could solve problems on earth/Rather/than race to space/For their egos.” There were also an astonishingly large number of dick jokes.
But the case against space billionaires falls apart on closer scrutiny. At worst, the private space race is no more frivolous or wasteful than other, more mundane business, philanthropic, or government projects. At best, what began as a luxury pursuit opens a new frontier and kick-starts a new industry that will dramatically expand humanity’s prospects.
EARTH FIRST
This story is from the December 2022 edition of Reason magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 2022 edition of Reason magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
50 Years of D&D: You Can't Copyright Fun
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the original edition of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), the granddaddy of tabletop role-playing games and one of the urtexts of nerd culture.
The Alzheimer's Test You're Not Allowed To Have
MILLIONS FACE THE shadow of Alzheimer’s, a disease that steals memories and devastates lives.
An Early Test for Alzheimer's
SHOULD YOU BE allowed to take a blood test that could tell you if you’re already at risk of Alzheimer’s disease? Last year, Quest Diagnostics began offering a consumer-initiated blood test for $399 (not covered by insurance) that detects the buildup of proteins associated with the development of Alzheimer’s in customers’ plasma.
Caging Lab-Grown Meat
LAB-GROWN MEAT IS a scientific marvel. We’ve managed, through pure human ingenuity, to create something that looks like meat, cooks like meat, tastes pretty much like meat, and comes from animal cells—yet doesn’t require the slaughter of a single living animal.
The 'Migrant Crime' Wave, Debunked
“THE UNITED STATES is being overrun by the Biden migrant crime,” said former President Donald Trump during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in February. “It’s a new form of vicious violation to our country.”
Don't Co-Parent With Congress
I’M ALWAYS PUZZLED when I hear other parents say they’re worried about the effects social media might be having on their children.
Is Chinese Garlic a Threat to National Security?
IS A STAPLE ingredient in your kitchen secretly undermining American sovereignty? Sen. Rick Scott (R–Fla.) seems to believe so.
Launch Approved? Not So Fast, Says Sluggish FAA
MOST AMERICANS ARE eager to see NASA astronauts return to the moon and push humanity’s boundaries with future exploration of Mars.
SpaceX Edges Closer to the Moon
ARTEMIS II IS a crewed moon flyby mission, the first in a series of missions meant to get American astronauts back to the moon and eventually to Mars.
Blaming Tech for Teen Troubles
Jonathan Haidt’s clever, insufficient case against smartphones