--- title: "NASA Apologies for Saying Your Broke A** Will Never Go to Jupiter" description: "NASA attempted to spit facts about humans' inability to fly to Jupiter — and then was forced to apologize." date: "2023-11-01" modified: "2023-11-01" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-jupiter-apology" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "europa" - "jupiter" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # NASA Apologies for Saying Your Broke A\*\* Will Never Go to Jupiter ![NASA attempted to spit facts about humans' inability to fly to Jupiter — and then was forced to apologize.]() *\Image: NASA / Futurism\* ## Apologia When advertising a promotion, NASA attempted to spit facts about the fact that traveling anywhere in space is unfathomably expensive and unrealistic for the average person — but after irking a bunch of space fans on Twitter, was forced to apologize. "Is visiting Jupiter on your bucket list?" read a [tweet]() from the account for NASA 360, one of the agency's video networks. "Let’s face facts, it’s not going to happen." The rest of the tweet advertised the agency's "[Message in a Bottle]()" promotion, which allows space enthusiasts to have their names [engraved on the uncrewed spacecraft]() that's launching next year toward Jupiter's icy moon Europa, located about 1.8 billion miles from Earth. Although the trip would be [impossible for humans to undertake]() with current spacefaring technology — not the least because of the searing radiation surrounding the gas giant and that even if it *were* possible, it would likely cost untold billions given the [$1.13 billion price tag]() on NASA's uncrewed 2016 Juno mission to the planet — lots of people seemed to take offense at NASA's tone. "NASA \[is\] really out here telling kids to stop dreaming and instead engrave their name on a tiny plate," SpaceX intern Nathan Commissariat [responded](). "There are so many better ways to have worded this." ## Facts, Meet Feelings John Kraus, a spaceflight photographer — whose work seems to, you guessed it, [center on SpaceX]() — also pushed back on the assertion that nobody will be able to travel to Jupiter anytime soon. "I think someone is alive today who will visit Jupiter," [Kraus tweeted](), specifying that it could be either a fly-by, a landing — which, again, is impossible, especially because [there's nowhere *to* land]() — or a jaunt to one of the planet's [many moons](). The agency was apparently listening, and a few hours later, [NASA 360 posted](), replete with a facepalming astronaut GIF, what passes for a contrite apology on Elon Musk's X-formerly-Twitter. "Hey, folks — we goofed up," [the account tweeted](). "We want to be clear: we’re always reaching for the stars (and planets and moons), and we want what we do to inspire you to do the same. Never stop dreaming!" While we don't necessarily *love* that a bunch of SpaceX stans shamed NASA into issuing an apology for stating what is currently an indisputable [scientific fact]() that's not likely to change until we [develop much, much better spaceflight technology]() — and that the [average peon wouldn't be able to afford]() a flight to Jupiter even if science had advanced enough to do so — it's nevertheless kind of hilarious that the space agency had to essentially tell people that they can do the impossible because the alternative (read: the truth) hurt their feelings. **More on Jupiter:** [*NASA Spacecraft Snaps Beautiful Photo of Jupiter's Volcano-Dotted Moon*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()