While it's been a whopping 54 years since we last sent a human to the Moon, it seems NASA's Artemis missions are a bit like buses. You wait decades for one, then they all come at once.
In the aftermath of November 2022's Artemis 1 pulling off an uncrewed lunar orbit and return, April 2026's Artemis 2 sent a four-person crew up into the stars, with more missions just over the horizon.
Even though NASA's missions to the Moon wound down due to spiralling costs and waning interest in the Apollo program, it looks like we're firing on all thrusters as Artemis 2 just set a record for going further into space than the human race ever has.
Setting several other firsts for Christina Koch as the first woman to go beyond low Earth orbit, and Victor Glober being the first Black man to reach the Moon, they're also set to splashdown with the fastest crewed reentry ever attempted.
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Although these are small steps for man and giant leaps for mankind, not everyone thinks we should be putting our time and money into exploring the stars. Known for his roles as Andre "Dre" Johnson on ABC's Black-ish, Anthony Anderson has also landed roles in films like The Departed, Transformers, Scream 4, and enjoyed a recurring role as Detective Kevin Bernard on Law & Order.
As reported by TMZ, Anderson has called out Artemis 2 and said that he doesn't personally care that it's reached such a milestone. Anderson told the outlet: "I hear something like how much money it costs us just to turn the block around the Moon, for no other purpose other than to say that we sent four people further into space than anybody else has...
"It really doesn't make any sense to me when we look at the grand scheme of things about what we need here at home, for society."
Saying he still drives around and sees homelessness, Anderson also pointed to dilapidated buildings and programs that need funding, before circling back to Artemis 2's flyby and asking: "What's it all for?"
Noting that we're in the middle of a war and claiming our economy is crashing while gas prices are going up, Anderson then shared his thoughts on plans to build a more permanent base on the Moon as he mused: "I still see sh*t in the hood that needs to be rebuilt right now. The elementary school that I grew up in, in Compton, still needs to be rebuilt right now, man, and I'm doing my best to help it.”
Anderson notably played Mahalik Phifer in the Scary Movie franchise, and with him confirmed for a role in 2026's upcoming sixth movie (confusingly titled Scary Movie), having the star of one of 2026's biggest movies speak out is sure to cause a stir.
This wouldn't be the first time a celebrity has called out our recent trips to the stars, with a number of notable names slamming Katy Perry's controversial Blue Origin trip. Among those who were critical of Jeff Bezos' space tourism plans, Olivia Wilde, Emily Ratajkowski, Amy Schumer, and Olivia Munn made their feelings clear.
Others like William Shatner continue to champion space travel, while Buzz Aldrin has just called for us to reignite Elon Musk's plans to colonize Mars.
While there's no escaping the impressive nature of the Artemis missions pushing humanity further than it's gone before, expect more like Anderson to speak out as Artemis 3 plans to put actual boots back on the Moon in (hopefully) mid-2027.