Well, I decided to break my conventional media omerta on #Artemis II this afternoon, & spent ten minutes on LBC Radio with Ali Miraj.
He's clearly sceptical about space exploration, including the billionaire bros & the wider geopolitical context.
I was invited on to "big up" space, to talk about the science, & probably to be gushy & enthusiastic, but as I actually agree with most of his concerns (even if some are not particularly well-informed), I'm not sure there was much point.
But at least I got to explain that Europe & the UK are key players in Artemis, which he evidently didn't know, & that the lunar south pole is a scientifically interesting place given the water there in shadowed craters.
And I also explained that Artemis II is a lunar flyby test, Artemis III is a LEO docking test, & Artemis IV will be the first crewed landing, but he still seems to think that if you're going to the Moon now, why not just pop down to the surface for a stroll?
I also mentioned the inspirational effect, that many kids will be watching Artemis & some will be excited about careers in STEM, hopefully.
But it also illustrated the oddity of talk radio, inasmuch as while my bits were just kind of "statements", he was actually having more substantial to & fro discussions with the callers who came later.
Again, I suspect we agree on much more than was perhaps clear. Maybe we should do this again, in person, & with an hour to bounce things back & forth.
Mark McCaughrean