NASA Ignores Free Earned Artemis PR

Keith’s 29 Jan note: Time magazine revealed its cover dedicated to the Artemis II mission Thursday morning via a press release and tweeted it out at 8:03 am EST. That tweet has gotten over 1 million impressions. Lots of people noticed and retweeted it. But no mention has been made at @NASA. OSTP retweeted it at noon. No mention by OSTP director @mkratsios47 or @NASAAdmin or @NASAArtemis. But PAO staffers Bethany Stevens and George Alderman noticed and retweeted it – so it is not as if NASA PAO was unaware of this. And OSTP tweeted it as well and got ~2,000 impressions (i.e. no one pays much attention to OSTP). But why not use @NASA and its 88.5 million followers? Given that the President really really likes the whole idea of being on the cover of Time magazine, you’d think that this would be a big deal. NASA Is certainly not shy about pumping out its own pre-game PR for the mission. So why ignore this one – especially since it gives free ‘earned visibility’? Those of us old enough to remember Apollo 8 in 1968 will recall the impact it had on the world – the first trip to the Moon. Now we are going back over half a century – the first human Moon mission for 70% of humanity – and an echo of that history has been made. But NASA choses to ignore it. Yet another example of NASA’s baffling way of not making the most of its global branding reach. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

• Friday 30 Jan Update: at 7:28 am EST this morning Jared Isaacman tweeted about this historic resonance. “58 years after Apollo 8’s historic trip around the Moon, NASA is heading back. This time, our crew is going farther into space than any human in history. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen will embark on a ten-day mission around the Moon, marking America’s grand return to the lunar environment. Artemis II marks the beginning of the boldest series of missions the world has ever seen. Through the Artemis campaign, we will maintain American superiority in space, land American astronauts on the Moon, and establish a lunar base all before the end of 2028. Godspeed Artemis II 🇺🇸”
• And so has ESA Director general Josef Aschbacher : “Artemis is not the story of one nation alone – Europe plays a central and indispensable role. This is the story of a shared vision and a shared commitment. The European Service Module, developed by @ESA and built by European industry with contributions from 10 ESA Member States, is the powerhouse of NASA’s Orion spacecraft. It provides propulsion, electrical power, water, oxygen, thermal control and the capability to manoeuvre through space – including the critical burns needed to set the astronauts on their journey to the Moon. Quite simply, Orion could not fly without Europe. Europe is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder – and on the shoulders of giants – with its international partners, led by the United States🇺🇸. Together, we are extending humankind’s presence beyond Earth and demonstrating that cooperation remains our most powerful engine for the future.”
• And ESA too: “We’re proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our international partners in Artemis. Our European Service Module is at the heart of NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Together, we’re extending humankind’s presence in space and demonstrating that multilateral and inclusive cooperation is vital for our future.”