Artemis II's Big Discovery: Bipartisan (!) Support for Government Funded Research

What if our Common Ground is on the Far Side of the Moon?

On April 1st, we witnessed the launch of Artemis II, and we left the right and left leaning corners of the internet to spend the next ten days in the same livestreams and TikToks as four astronauts became the first humans to complete a journey around the moon in real time.

Those ten days from hopeful launch to safe splashdown were a very unique case of society-wide sustained effervescence.

When the astronauts escaped Earth’s gravity, we briefly escaped with them. As an American, it was especially refreshing to see our government be a catalyst for inspiration and celebrate the triumphs of the human spirit; a sharp contrast to an unpopular war and an ongoing partial government shutdown.

All this unity, wonder, and innovation that NASA has showcased, which, according to Forbes, 97% of Americans support, is what’s possible when our government invests, believes in, and supports its own scientific institutions.

The technology behind Artemis II’s success, the new perspectives on our Moon and Earth, and the touching moments we all loved along the way? All of it is the product of government-funded research.

So, who’s in the 3% that doesn’t support NASA?

Well, despite his recent rhetoric and public support of the Artemis II Mission, Trump is trying to cut NASA’s funding by nearly 50%. Again! While the Artemis II mission would still be funded in his proposed budget cut, large chunks of NASA’s scientific portfolio, things that make more Artemis IIs possible, are on the chopping block.

There is truly so much we could dive into about how crucial government-funded space and science research is across the board – for humanity, the planet, the private sector, enterprise, and good old American capitalism. (Exhibit A: GPS and the Internet. See also MRIs and memory foam.)

However, because this is UNASB, we’re always thinking about our evergreen homework assignment: how to reach the right-leaning and apolitical people in our lives, and how to shape a more progressive culture through connection and conversation.

We think Artemis II is the perfect gateway to discussing how cool NASA, and more broadly, our government’s scientific efforts can be.

Especially with your right-leaning friends and family, who were equally invested in four astronauts dealing with a broken toilet in zero gravity while hurtling through space.

There is something awe-inspiring and moving about seeing humans just like us, traveling over 200,000 miles away from the only home humans have ever known. We can and should take advantage of this moment, a rare positive and shared blip of common ground in the current newscycle, to note what’s possible with government-funded research when we aren’t actively dismantling it.