Katy Perry, international popstar and celebrity, recently made headlines after she and five other women took to orbit in one of the first ‘space tourism’ flights, a new industry which hopes to make seeing space a reality for more people, but which is still in its fledgling stages. Perry and her crew received worldwide coverage for their endeavour, touching the edge of space for eleven minutes before touching back down to Earth. The world rejoiced at the mission, hailing the success and the monumental feat of an all-female flight crew making it to space. What’s not to love? Perry and her crew’s ‘adventure’ is the pinnacle of needless frivolity, and one which should, in my view, be held as a travesty, hardly something to be celebrating. 
Whilst space aficionados and fans of the pop star were overjoyed at the mission, it’s important not to forget who made it all possible. The space flight was facilitated by Blue Origin, an American aerospace company owned by Amazon boss, and our good friend Jeff Bezos; the same Jeff Bezos seen in the infamous lineup of ‘tech bros’ that joined Donald Trump on stage for his inauguration. The mission, one of many the company has attempted in its urge to monopolise space, is the latest endeavour of a man not content with his almost $200 billion net worth and hopes to use this mission to help galvanise and accelerate his plans.
Secondly, let’s address the ‘all-female’ elephant in the room. Perry’s mission was widely celebrated due to its all-female crew, with women from a variety of backgrounds taking on space. And it must be commended that this is an achievement, particularly shocking considering that the last time such a crew existed was in 1963, and even that only took place with the solo space mission of Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. But to celebrate this as a feminist win is particularly short-sighted, with many of the crew being extremely privileged individuals (such as Perry, Lauren Sánchez – the wife of Jeff Bezos – and Gayle King – a TV personality).
Finally, and most consequentially, we must question what space, space travel and space exploration are for. For every space endeavour conceptualised and realised by national space agencies such as NASA, there is always a predefined mission; a reason for sending space shuttles, manned or unmanned, beyond the atmosphere into the great beyond. Whether this was to reach the Moon, or repair satellites, change the crew of the International Space Station or resupply runs, every mission had a goal that specifically justified the feat.
I must admit I think that spending billions of dollars of money and countless resources could be better allocated to dealing with some of the key issues Earth itself faces, but that’s just me. But I accept that these missions will take place regardless. Yet, the key difference comes down to the ‘why?’. When astronauts head to space, they are often scientists and engineers at the top of their fields, spending their hours in space conducting experiments, taking readings, making critical repairs and more, all to better humankind and increase our knowledge of what lies beyond our world.
For Katy Perry and her team, no such undertaking was made. Only one of them, Aisha Bowe, possesses any skills even remotely useful in outer space, hence their very short flight and lack of activity. There is a world in which I see no issue with this at all. Why not let the process to enable all of us to begin to explore space begin with this team of celebrities?
Because in order to get them there, Perry et al. used an exceptional amount of Earth’s carbon budget, and far more than any of them hold themselves! The World Inequality Lab has made the point that preparing for each launch uses up 50 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is comparatively more than an individual in the bottom billion carbon users in the world consumes in their entire lifetime. Every space launch is significantly damaging to the environment, but at least they all have a defined purpose to them!
Katy Perry and her crew may now be safely back on Earth, but the fallout from their decision to go in the first place is by no means complete. The damage that this one singular flight has caused & exacerbates is immeasurable, particularly with the effects of climate change now being felt more than ever. However, it is also important to mention that whilst Perry and her crew are complicit, they should not be held solely responsible. Many analysts have already made it clear that the Blue Origin flight was nothing more than a PR stunt for the company, who almost certainly would have been able to find an alternative crew if Perry and her team had declined
The space flight is no less than a disaster for the environment. We need to stop this frivolous use of time, money and resources, and redirect them to important causes whilst we still have a chance.
