I quite appreciate the visceral dislike that people have for Tesla. Given that we see their products directly in our everyday lives, I certainly don’t blame people for reacting this way, and I’m happy to encourage this sort of scrutiny, especially over the longer term. I sometimes think, though, that the zeitgeist is missing some of the deeper damage that Musk’s enterprises are inflicting. I don’t think there’s nearly enough journalism about the ongoing effects of DOGE cuts, for example.

And then there’s SpaceX. In all the anger over the throttling of Starlink (“Starshield”) for the defenders in Ukraine, I haven’t seen a single note of awareness about Starlink and LEO satellite megaconstellations being inherently harmful (regardless of who launches them). Aside from the increased orbital collision risk, the atmospheric pollution, and the blinding of astronomical facilities (including asteroid defense), there’s the threat to the ozone layer from all that reentering aluminum. All of which will only increase as lunatics continue to use near-orbital space as their dumping ground.

It’s a powerful metaphor for our time. When it comes to Tesla, I think there’s a good company in there, somewhere. And SpaceX absolutely employs some of the best aerospace talent on the planet, capable of advancing legitimate science and exploration in space. And yet, so many brilliant folk are caught up employing their skills in juvenile displays like flying car stunts and planet-encircling rings of disposable satellites.

Denying your opponent the use of space, be it Low Earth Orbit or points beyond in cislunar space, is hardly trivial. You would notice if the GPS, weather and communication functions of Earth’s satellite swarm were denied you. China and Russia understand this well, no matter how many people here may be stuck in their blinkered, reactionary opinion that “space is a waste of money”.

In this context, a pronouncement like this from the “leader”, or even the dementia-riddled tribal figurehead, of the US could be disastrous. Regardless of his proclivity to write his name in water, or the general understanding that we’re dealing with someone who was always emotionally and intellectually stunted, the world could watch as China starts to unlock the deeper potential of space science, while the USA grows aggressive and grasping in a domain where there are as yet no people, and no rules. Even with Trump gone, what do you suppose a President Hegseth or Vance would do in cislunar space? “Claiming” Luna isn’t feasible, unless you try to shoot down any craft landing there, but what about the Lagrange 2 point or the geosynchronous belt above Earth?

When you consider how Musk, Bezos and the FCC cabal have effectively been squatting in Low Earth Orbit with Starlink and other satellite constellations - to the point of crowding out other users - I wouldn’t put any of this past the post-Trump USA.

I wonder what would have happened if this imbecilic self-indulgence had come after China had successfully launched Chang’e 7. And by “wonder” I mean “dread”.

Chang’e 7, whose launch has been delayed, is a highly ambitious and comprehensive (uncrewed) lunar mission incorporating four separate vehicles into a single launch and mission: orbiter, fixed lander, rover, and - an innovative “hopper”, which has been previously implemented (by Japan) for landing on a small asteroid, but never a world as large as Luna, or as difficult to navigate.

This is definitely one of the most ambitious space probes ever to be assembled. One might even say the most ambitious, when you consider that the landing site is remarkably close to the South Pole - not the easier or safest region to visit, let alone properly explore. If this mission were going beyond Luna, I’d probably rank it in the same league as Viking or Cassini-Huygens - and in fact, depending on its longevity and science return, I ultimately might have to anyway.

Some have gone so far as to say that this mission represents the point where China’s spaceflight abilities are challenging, or even exceeding, the USA’s. I’ll leave that debate to the side here while noting that the science return from Chang’e 7 looks to be phenomenal and possibly groundbreaking, if they can pull this off. This isn’t a “flags and footprints” or purely nationalistic mission; China’s already done those. From the science standpoint, this looks like the real thing.

Those who consider Lunar science a dead and settled issue have some shocks coming, both geopolitically - because of the potential for exploitation of Lunar resources and development of military applications) - and scientifically. The equatorial and mid-lat regions of Earth’s Moon are not well-explored, despite what people think, with information about the origin and evolution of planets in general. And that’s before you consider that the Lunar South Pole could be a repository for comet and asteroid debris that is second to none. Explore that properly, return those samples to your labs, and you could be gathering data on the ultimate development of the atmosphere and biology on Earth.