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?
@werdenfels @markmccaughrean
https://fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/116345981050066318
The ESA sign is there.
@werdenfels @AkaSci Other side, I think – that's a picture from Artemis I, IIRC, but I've seen at least one picture that suggests the same big NASA worm logo is on the base of Orion again.
As for why there's no equally large & prominent ESA logo, well, I suspect you realise that that's a rhetorical question 🙂
Mark McCaughrean
Karl Name 
AkaSci 🛰️