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The Dark Side of Artemis II? Pearl-Clutching Right-Wing Pundits

Some folks were awfully sensitive to the idea that space travel could be colonialist

On April 1, the Artemis II mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, with four astronauts on board, on a ten-day journey around the moon and back—the first crewed lunar mission in more than fifty years. That morning, we published an essay by contributing writer Michelle Cyca titled “With the Artemis II Mission, the Lunar Land Grab Begins,” in which she critiques the goal of the Artemis missions—to establish a permanent base on the moon, to mine its resources, and, she writes, to “transform the moon from a place of imagination to one of profit.” I spoke with Cyca about the response to her article, which was . . . something else.

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Why did you want to write this article? Do you hate space, Michelle?

No! I love Star Trek: The Next Generation! Ask anyone.

When we published the article, the response was immediate. It clearly touched a very sensitive nerve in a particular corner of right-wing media. The National Post called the article an example of “colonial outrage industry.” The American publication The College Fix ran a response, arguing that the Artemis mission “(re)activated the critical theory and oppression studies mindset.” The Rebel talked about the article during a weekly livestream, and wrote about it too, with Sheila Gunn Reid calling it “a useless person’s view of people who are adventurous.” When we shared the article on X, it led to 1.1 million views and more than 600 comments. Why do you think........

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