With everything going on in the world — from climate change to inequality and wars — Katy Perry’s space trip feels super out of touch. People might think it is an empowered moment for women or a sign of progress, but it is hard to ignore the time of the trip and the message it sends.
It is undeniable space travel has always been expensive and comes with additional requirements and time to train. Perry’s flight, which cost millions of dollars, did not contribute any new research or meaningful insight. Instead, it highlighted the deep divide between those who can afford to leave the planet and those who can hardly survive on it. At a time when wildfires, food shortages, and economic instability headline the news, Perry’s decision to board the space capsule for a few minutes of a joyride represents a symbol of disconnection. It is someone with global influence who chose to participate in this activity while the majority are in crisis.
Aside from Perry’s supposed fun trip, people online have started to question whether the space trip even happened at all. Online, there are conspiracy theories that claim the whole trip was staged for publicity, as they pointed to edited photos and lack of real-time footage as supposed “evidence.” There was even a video leaked of the supposed spacecraft after it had landed back on the ground and one of the women on the spacecraft opened the door, which was claimed to only be openable from the outside. While no evidence is confirmed nor denied, society feels as if the event feels more like a social media event than a real moment in history.
Outside of the social media standpoint, it is important to note the environmental cost of space tourism. Each launch releases massive amounts of carbon emissions and pollutants into the atmosphere, which diminish the fight against climate change. While Katy Perry is a big contributor to this topic, she is not the only one. We should also focus on the trend growth of celebrities and billionaires who treat space as a personal playground. Space exploration should be about progress, discovery and improvements for humanity—not a flashy trip for the rich. Perry’s spaceflight might have looked exciting on Instagram, but to most of us, it felt disconnected from the rest of the world.
