Let not the fear of an incessantly ongoing war in Iran, midterms that are looking less and less like democratic elections, and experts’ warnings of an AI doomsday get you down! That’s all Earthian bullshit—and the Trump administration’s got some other galactic priorities to think about.
Well, priorities with expanding its military mandate to the Moon, specifically. During the Air, Space and Cyber Conference in Washington, D.C. this week, military officials proclaimed the U.S. needs to ready itself for Moon combat, with Air Force Secretary Troy Meink announcing the existence of “on-orbit space control weapons,” and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, saying the U.S. military is now prepared to fight from “the seabed to cislunar space.”
“We are increasing readiness against existing threats,” Meink explained. “The United States has on orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action.”
Geopolitically, this was a clear warning to China and Russia, neither of which has publicly claimed to have military operations on the moon—but both of which have been freaking out the Pentagon with the strides they could be making in their space operations. (Both China and Russia have criticized the U.S. for the move, with the former saying it could turn space into a “battlefield,” and the latter urging America to keep space “free from any weapon.”) The U.S., China, and the Soviet Union were also signatories to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which sought to regulate the use of arms testing and territorial claims in space—and technically forbade weapons from being deployed there.
Technically, all three countries have made minor violations to the treaty before. In 1985, the U.S. Air Force shot down a faulty weather satellite (from the U.S.); in 2007, China did similar; and in 2021, Russia used a ground-based missile to shoot a Soviet-era satellite. Still, no one’s yet outright claimed ownership of “space control weapons.”
Alas, Trump’s been interested in putting his grubby paws all over American democracy as much as the literal universe since reentering office, and well, his AI-generated dreams of military Space Nazi outfits have to be put to use somewhere.
And, honestly, it’s already been feeling like we’ve been catapulted back to the mid-20th century, what with people catching measles, a ramping affordability crisis, and everyone freaking out about communism. What’s a space race on top of that, too?
More barf:
- Barbara Streisand called out Trump for his “unchecked ego” re: his obsession with destroying the Kennedy Center. (Rolling Stone)
- Is Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) OK? Genuinely asking. (The New Republic)
- Vice President JD Vance called “Emily in Paris” the “Shakespeare of our time.” (The Independent)
- Vance also asked voters, “Give us another chance.” Hm. (CNN)
- Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said she wants Lindsey Clancy publicly executed as a “warning” to women. (ABC News 4)
- Melania Trump resurfaced to continue her Tour de Robots, this time at a school in North Carolina. (The New York Times)
- Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. tells anti-vax Americans not to worry: They have a “friend” in the White House. (CNN)
- Apparently, Pentagon staff call Jennifer Hegseth,
WarDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s wife, “Yoko Ono.” (Daily Beast)
