From launchpads to low Earth orbit and past, house firms and their associates are deploying a well-recognized advertising and marketing tactic – with a brand new twist. In an area financial system projected to succeed in US$1.8 trillion by 2035, they promote space exploration narratives by interesting to a need to broaden humankind past Earth – whereas downplaying or omitting the detrimental repercussions for Earth and the space environment. Welcome to the age of starwashing.
You might have heard the time period greenwashing, which describes when firms falsely declare that their practices or merchandise are extra environmentally pleasant than they’re, or when their inexperienced efforts are insignificant in comparison with their dangerous environmental practices.
Some examples range from auto firms claiming that dumping cars into oceans advantages fish to plastics firms asserting that their merchandise are more easily recycled than they are.
As we speak, greenwashing typically disguises the true nature of company exercise by interesting to the increasing number of people who care about environmental sustainability.
However greenwashing practices don’t finish with those that care in regards to the Earth. As a social work researcher within the penalties of commercialism each on and off Earth, I’ve studied how space companies are utilizing comparable methods. As a substitute of interesting solely to a way of environmental accountability, nevertheless, additionally they enchantment to your sense of cosmic marvel. I name this follow starwashing.
Starwashing may also enchantment to an curiosity in studying about life’s origins, Earth’s place within the universe, or the need for people to discover locations past our planet. For instance, positioning a space-related concept, exercise, product or coverage as a profit to “all humankind,” even when it may harm Earth or the bigger cosmic setting, could be starwashing.
For the good thing about Earth?
Blue Origin is a number one house know-how firm. Its mission states that it goals each to colonize house and “restore and maintain Earth.”
Alex WroblewskiAFP via Getty Images
The corporate’s founder, Jeff Bezos, envisions building space habitats that would home billions as a solution to environmental catastrophes on Earth. He’s additionally outlined a imaginative and prescient for shifting trade off Earth, most instantly to the Moon.
Bezos’ different firm, Amazon, has a carbon footprint bigger than dozens of nations, together with Eire, Bolivia and Norway. At face worth, shifting a few of Amazon’s activities into house to minimize its carbon footprint could appear environmentally fascinating.
However even when having a fraction of the human inhabitants stay and work in house in the future far sooner or later have been potential, it will not repair urgent environmental crises reminiscent of wildfires or climate change within the close to time period.
Blue Origin additionally makes deceptive claims about its rocket gasoline. Its New Shepard rocket, it says, is “for the benefit of Earth,” with the corporate claiming that almost all of the rocket gasoline’s dry mass is reused. Its engine’s combustion outcomes solely in water vapor, with no carbon emissions. However water vapor can amplify atmospheric warming that different greenhouse gases reminiscent of carbon dioxide trigger, which the assertion omits, and on which Blue Origin didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Mining the Moon
Corporations are additionally racing to extract assets from the Moon for what some, together with Blue Origin, say will allow lunar improvement by reducing trips to and from the Moon. Other companies intention to reap valuable resources reminiscent of helium-3.
These actions would require more frequent rocket launches, which can improve demand for launch sites that use more coastal land and, probably, ocean waters.
Such ventures can even have an effect on the setting of the Moon. The lunar surface area is lower than the mixed floor space of North America and South America, and fascinating resources are restricted to certain locations – removed from limitless. Prime touchdown places are additionally priceless scientific sites that human ventures could endanger.
At an annual House Sources Week occasion in Luxembourg, companies have publicly mentioned methods to make mining different celestial our bodies, together with the Moon, extra palatable for the general public. Whereas the host has prompt arising with a phrase that sounds “more beneficial,” enterprise capitalists have proposed a marketing campaign to divert the main target from environmental harm off-Earth by espousing house’s guarantees for pharmaceutical analysis and wi-fi connectivity.
A crowded low Earth orbit
Synthetic intelligence, referred to by monetary consultants as a “key” ingredient for house financial system progress, can be related.
Bezos and Elon Musk each have firms that construct and depend on resource-intensive data centers based mostly on land. They’ve espoused plans to assemble solar-powered orbital knowledge facilities and to assist different firms reminiscent of Google do the same. They body these plans as environmentally useful as a result of an orbital knowledge heart wouldn’t require the identical quantity of water or electricity as an information heart on Earth.
However orbital knowledge facilities, made up of satellite tv for pc clusters, would add to an already-crowded space environment.
Blue Origin has already launched thousands of new internet satellites to maintain tempo with Musk’s firm SpaceX, which has launched tens of thousands of satellites and plans to launch 1 million to energy AI knowledge facilities. These satellites can threaten Earth-based astronomy, pollute Earth’s orbit with debris and harm the ozone layer after they dissipate within the environment.
In February 2026, Musk admitted that terrestrial AI knowledge facilities impose unsustainable “hardship on communities and the setting.” However his firm continues to construct them, and analysts counsel that he took SpaceX public to fund AI ambitions, not house journey. Whereas the SpaceX model depends on thrilling notions of sending folks into house, the company leases unused computing energy to AI opponents at its Colossus knowledge advanced in Memphis, Tennessee, the place environmental teams have alleged the middle’s emissions violate the Clean Air Act.
Star enchantment
Corporations typically use “stars” – as in celebrities – in these starwashing practices. In 2021, SpaceX partnered with businessman Jared Isaacman, who’s now the NASA administrator, to advertise seats on the primary all-civilian flight to orbit, Inspiration4. They ran a Tremendous Bowl business that confirmed the Earth mirrored in an astronaut’s helmet, accompanied by singer Celeste’s soulful rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
Blue Origin transformed celebrities into space tourists to show its launch capabilities. On April 14, 2025, it helped an all-female crew, together with pop star Katy Perry, fly to suborbital house for 4 minutes. Whereas Blue Origin confirmed off its New Shepard rocket, Perry promoted her upcoming tour.
Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Image
Benefiting ‘all humankind’
The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 obligates nations to discover house for the good thing about all international locations because the “province of all mankind.”
SpaceX, for example, purportedly aims to save humanity from future environmental catastrophes, just like the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, by colonizing the Moon and Mars.
This philosophy bypasses intersecting environmental crises reminiscent of local weather change and biodiversity loss which can be extra possible near-term threats to Earth’s inhabitability than the type of catastrophic asteroid influence estimated to happen once every few million years.
As U.S.-based house firms, principal amongst them SpaceX, obtain billions in taxpayer-funded contracts, their environmental results each on and past Earth will develop. An open query is whether or not all of humankind will reap the benefits of space, because the Outer House Treaty asks.
A brand new motion?
In 1968, the Apollo 8 crew captured the primary shade {photograph} of Earth from house: “Earthrise.” It helped inspire the environmental motion of the final century, which included holding firms accountable for greenwashing.
This previous April, the Artemis II crew captured the sooner picture’s counterpart, “Earthset.” This image of our blue marble setting behind the Moon captivated folks internationally.
Whether or not it’ll inspire an off-Earth environmental motion – one which holds house firms accountable for starwashing practices – is but to be seen.
