Space tourism isn’t only inspiring, it is a grotesque display of wealth in a world of burning inequality between social classes. When Katy Perry announced her plans to go to space in the first all-women crew since 1963, it was met with eye-rolls but also praise. This is a situation where yet another millionaire is taking a joyride not for science, not for progress, but for the ultimate vanity of flex. In a time when millions struggle with rising costs, climate disasters, and shrinking opportunities, these extravagant publicity stunts are not just tone-deaf, they’re a glaring symbol of how wealth and fame warp priorities. Instead of pushing boundaries for humanity, the wealthy are turning space into their latest playground, proving once again that when you have endless money, the only limit is your ego.
In a time when about 700 million people live in extreme poverty, and huge climate disasters that are only escalating by the year, billionaires are dumping fortunes into brief joyrides to the edge of space. It isn’t just frivolous, but it’s extremely morally indefensible. A single flight on Blue Origin burns through enough resources to fund an entire humanitarian project. While it may not burn through CO, it still doesn’t help that the only people who were shown on the all-female flight were all women with money and already established fan bases.
Jeff Bezos’ $5.5 billion investment in Blue Origin is more than just a vanity project. It’s a stark symbol of America’s display of wealth inequality. While on the other side of that, Amazon employees are turning to GoFundMe, which is a popular crowdfunding platform for people to create fundraisers to raise money for many causes. This was used to cover basic medical expenses they can’t afford on Amazon wages. This is a disturbing display of the harsh truth of modern capitalism.
The average Amazon warehouse worker would need to work for about 1,500 years to earn what Bezo spent on the singular rocket test. This reality itself should be shameful, and open the eyes of millions of their supporters. This is just a dystopian parody of justification where rich people rise above the problems of ordinary people.
While billionaires, and millionaires alike treat space as their very own playground, real organizations like NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) demonstrate what meaningful space is actually like. NASA’s Perseverance rover is as of now searching for signs of ancient life on Mars. The James Webb Telescope is unraveling mysterious things about the cosmos, and ESA missions monitor the issues of climate change. All of this data aims to help humanity. While these agencies work on budgets that are enough, they fail in comparison to the fortunes wasted on these joy rides in space. When we celebrate the real people like scientists and astronauts who train for years to risk their lives for discoveries. We see just how much space tourism falls flat.
At The Village School, I had asked young women, the very demographic this stunt claims to inspire, how they truly felt about this spectacle. Many here are grinding daily toward their own STEM-oriented career goals. Does a billionaire-funded ride framed as “progress” resonate? “I think it’s disrespectful, especially because they came out and said it’s a big step for women. There are already women astronauts, it’s like basically saying that all their work meant nothing because they weren’t famous and billionaires.” Said senior Holly Schofield. Her frustration speaks loudly for this situation. Why frame wealthy celebrities as pioneers when countless women have already broken records or broken barriers in space? The mission’s branding felt less “inspiring” and more like the erasure of real women.
To some, these high profile-space missions aren’t entirely without its praise. “I think it’s really empowering for women to see them go to space, but I think there are bigger issues out there. It feels out of touch. But I understand what they’re trying to do.” Said senior Isabelle Stephenson. On the surface, watching a celebrity you have known about almost your whole life break the model and go to space might seem to some as inspirational. Yet the message seems to fade when it is gate-kept by wealth and power. For every headline about a famous woman “shattering the glass ceilings” in space, there are millions of other women fighting for basic rights, equal pay, and good healthcare here on Earth. What is a good representation in zero gravity if it’s funded by the same people who keep the inequality in place? They may dazzle the bystanders but true progress requires lifting people up, not just lifting them into space.
Katy Perry’s space trip isn’t inspiring but it’s infuriating. True legacy is not built on publicity stunts but on the use of privilege to lift others. While millionaires can indulge in these space trips, Earth’s gravest crisis, climate collapse, poverty, and healthcare cry for real solutions that money and influence can help. The next time a millionaire wants to go explore space, maybe they should use their money and power to help fix the Earth.
