I did not enter into my plans to defend the trip to Katy Perry space, but every day Ethel Cain is more right when he denounced that the world lives an epidemic of irony and that nobody takes anything seriously. Perry memes proliferate on the Internet talking about stars dust and kissing the ground after reaching the earth by reducing their experience to “four minutes” of space travel, as if traveling to space were not an absolutely brutal experience that requires immense courage. And money at the bank, too, nobody denies that. But let’s not reduce the experience of these six women to nothing, because traveling to space is not anything.
It is clear that the idea of traveling to space is less interesting than before for the general public. Does anyone remember that Lady Gaga was going to act in space in 2015? The day before Perry’s trip and his companions, Jeff Bezos Lauren Sanchez, the presenter Gayle King, the scientist and activist Amanda Nguyen, the film producer Kerianne Flynn and the space engineer Aisha Bowe, commented on the news between friends and nobody knew her. The best reaction portray Katy Perry leaving space to look for fans of ‘143’ because on Earth he did not find them. But, in general, no one had impressed this fact. Of course, Jesús Calleja had already gone to space two months earlier and his journey mattered to anyone, although his flight, like Perry’s and company, also launched Blue Origin and lasted 11 minutes.
However, Katy Perry seems to be in the center of the conversation about this visit to the Kármán line. Of course, it is a world recognized pop star and its role was exactly that, attracting attention to a space travel episode courtesy of Jeff Bezos. His light – that of his celebrity – has illuminated the rest of the passengers to whom you probably had less located, including Amanda Nguyen, who is a true astronaut, and who had to leave his dream of traveling to space after suffering a rape. Nguyen has invested a decade of his life denouncing abuse and has managed to change laws. She and Aisha Bowe deserved to be there more than anyone.
However, Jeff Bezos’s last launch is not a matter of merit. Or not only exclusively. Katy Perry has deserved to make this trip the same as Jesús Calleja. It depends on how you look, they probably both “deserve” to travel to space more than you and me. Perry, specifically, has written a multitude of songs that have provided joy to the world and dedicates their lives to entertaining, inspiring, influencing and providing color in each of its concerts. His role in this trip has been to demonstrate to the world that space tourism is already possible and that it will be a reality for all sooner or later. That in a few years it will cease to be only rich thing, as it also ceased to be rich driving cars, flying by plane, possessing mobile phones, injecting botox or buying online. Are you supposed to give us the same as a person on foot – be it famous or not – can fly to space? Oh really?
The objective of the Blue Origin mission – a company that has existed for 25 years and has launched hundreds of rockets to space – is to conduct a scientific research. At least, something to take into account. Both Gayle King and Asha Bowe have talked about the benefits and advances that spatial research generates in life on earth and that we all enjoy all. Perhaps – perhaps – this path to the border of the atmosphere has some scientific purpose – and has it – no matter how obsessed we examine it from the most absolute cynicism. And can anyone accuse Amanda Nguyen, a person who is an astronaut and who is not rich, of work intrusion and to intervene in the “destruction” of the planet?
Perry is being the easy target from all fronts. In the same way that she has put on the blue space suit, the rest of the world has decided to wear shoes to participate in the criticism Olympics. Perry is being mocked for speaking without having much idea during a previous interview with the journey of strings, Pythagoras and “calculations and things.” Well, by Katy Perry for speaking honestly about a subject that interests him but does not understand and who will have dedicated hours while preparing to leave the earth for a few minutes. I would have explained it just as evil or worse, but I do not have the ovaries to get into a space capsule.
It is true that Katy Perry’s magical discourse – which has been dragging for years, is not now. That when you return to Earth, the first thing you can say is that you feel “more connected to love than ever,” is not the most inspiring. But it is also true that it did not seem the only one that was placed after there – literally – traveled to space. And only goddess knows what would go through her head hours before taking off: she took a Margarita to have her daughter Daisy present in case she did not return. Luckily, he returned with his companions, although many are looking forward to staying there. I can think of many people to shout at space before Katy Perry, really.
It is critical for many the mere association of Katy Perry and her companions with billionaire Jeff Bezos. One of the most used arguments – and more fallacious – is that, while this space trip has cost millions of dollars, walking people still do not reach the end of the month. Others accuse Perry exaggeratedly of participating in the “destruction of the planet.” I am not going to defend Bezos or his flattery to Trump or Amazon. But I am going to defend Katy Perry because the reality is that no matter how much its flight to space has cost millions of dollars – packed by a private company – the reality is that this money was never going to solve hunger and inequalities in the world. Hunger, inequalities and climate change will continue to exist even if Jeff Bezos does not send a single rocket to space in his entire life. Comment on the hundreds of thousands of planes that are chartered every day contaminating the world, or the number of countries that have reduced their poverty in the last 10 or 15 years, we leave it for another time. Hopefully we continue to advance in both directions, in the technological advancement and in eliminating hunger in the world.
There has been an obvious communication problem promoting this space trip as a feminist matter, while many NASA women are being fired for various issues. It is funny that it is said that this has been the first trip to the space made by an exclusively feminine team since 1963, when in 1963 the trip made exclusively for women did one woman, the Russian Valentina Tereshkova, 62 years ago. Of course, we had already understood that feminism does not happen only because women match the success of men in professionals who mostly pursue. However, this trip is a success of representation; Perhaps in the future let’s see many more professionalized women in space science in part thanks to this little but great media moment. Because this has been this trip, a member for news. Well, very well.
I refuse to think that Katy Perry floating in zero gravity has not been a great television moment that we will remember in the future. If I were in position, I would feel very proud. And, the truth, while in a matter of weeks or months, a human tragedy has been chained in the news after another absolutely horrible -the fire in a Macedonia disco, the collapse of the roof of a disco of Santo Domingo, the death of two photographers in a Mexican festival, the death of a Catalan family after crashing his helicopter in the Hudson river of New York, the death of three people after three people after Florida 24 hours later-, while the newspapers saturate us every day with images of wars and death, I am going to allow myself to celebrate that at least one thing has gone well.
