A ‘Hot n Cold’ reaction to the Blue Origins space flight: Encouraging or detrimental to young women in STEM?

On 14 April 2025, Katy Perry and the rest of the Blue Origins crew were literally ‘Walking on Air’ as they jetted off to the edge of space. The 40-year-old US pop star was part of Jeff Bezos’s new Shepard NS-31 all-female crew that reached the outer edge of the atmosphere. She was joined by a ‘Starstrukk’ lineup that included Gayle King (a US TV star) and Lauren Sanchez (Bezos’s fiancée).

The public response to Katy Perry’s expedition was, unsurprisingly, ‘Hot n Cold’, with media outlets lit up like a ‘Firework’, exploding with both criticism and praise. Although you may know Katy Perry’s hits as club classics that were played ‘Last Friday Night’ in Neon, I’m sure that Katy Perry’s space exploration is inspirational for many girls whose ‘Teenage Dream’ is a career in STEM or astronomy. This mission has proven that achieving that dream is possible, no matter gender or sex.

11 minutes – that’s how long Katy Perry and her crew spent up in space, yet 75 tonnes of carbon dioxide was produced, roughly equivalent to the average person’s ‘Lifetimes’ worth of emissions

It was over 60 years ago that the last all-female spaceflight took place when the Soviet-astronaut Valentina Treshkova became the first woman to travel solo into space. However, despite the positive inclusivity the trip promoted, it’s not all sunshine and ‘Daisies’ – four out of the six women were simply celebrities, sparking questions about the privileged nature of the trip. Though it might be a win for women, how does it impact girls from underrepresented and marginalised communities dreaming of a career in STEM?

11 minutes – that’s how long Katy Perry and her crew spent up in space, yet 75 tonnes of carbon dioxide was produced, roughly equivalent to the average person’s ‘Lifetimes’ worth of emissions. Though a few minutes in space is thrilling, is it really worth the contribution to the climate crisis? As a science student, I’m all for continued funding and research into space exploration and science discovery, yet I wonder what the six ‘influential’ women were able to achieve within the 11 short minutes they were in space.

Katy Perry’s recent flight aboard the Blue Origin may not have been a scientific breakthrough, but some may argue it’s visually symbolic, echoing that it is a ‘Woman’s World’

The timing of the trip is undoubtedly convenient, considering Perry’s ongoing space-themed tour. Was she trying to prove a point for feminism, or was she just ‘Chained to the Rhythm’ of the pop-star spectacle, using the mission to boost a reportedly struggling tour? Katy Perry’s recent flight aboard the Blue Origin may not have been a scientific breakthrough, but some may argue it’s visually symbolic, echoing that it is a ‘Woman’s World’. On the contrary, others (especially in the scientific community) have expressed frustration that many study and train in this field for their whole lives, and yet do not receive the same opportunities as Perry, simply due to their lack of celebrity status.

So, were Katy Perry and her celebrity friends’ spaceflight a bold feminist milestone or a high-flying PR stunt? Perhaps it was a bit of both, and while she may not have conducted world-leading scientific research, she reminded young women that they can ‘Rise’ above gender stereotypes and ‘Roar’ in the face of the challenges they may face in the scientific field.