Doesn't seem to me to be any more challenging than putting a "man not-of-color,whatever-that-means" on the moon.
Put a teen, on the moon. Or some other random person without having them go through extensive training, really. I'll be more impressed.
Put a teen, on the moon. Or some other random person without having them go through extensive training, really. I'll be more impressed.
A big part of a modern astronauts job is speaking to people outside of the agency. School children, politicians, etc... It's in the agency's best interests to be relatable and inspiring to the widest swath of the population possible.
>It's in the agency's best interests to be relatable and inspiring to the widest swath of the population possible.
I mean that just says it all, doesn't it? The organization pursuing whatever will further the organization, rather than achieving the nominal mission.
Thank God we have SpaceX who are actually slashing launch costs and aiming to commoditize space travel. Astronauts shouldn't be inspiring celebrities, they should be like aircraft pilots. Competent, professional, and ubiquitous.
I agree with you - thank God for SpaceX (and FWIW, they also have diversity commitments). They are an amazing partner for NASA and are making their competitors (especially Boeing) look incompetent.
Having said that, I consider representation to be a valid selection criteria for publicly funded mission. Representation matters and that’s something that a lot of people will never understand as they’ve been widely represented throughout history, so it’s just normal life for them. Not so for many, many other people.
I'm astounded that this open prejudice exists, and that people don't feel ashamed to defend it. It ought to get struck down by the courts.
>Having said that, I consider representation to be a valid selection criteria for publicly funded mission.
It's tax money spent on open, shameless racism and sexism.