When astronaut Christina Koch, the pioneering woman to orbit the moon, shared her technological woes from space, it resonated with many Americans. Her issue? “I can’t find the device in the list of available devices after performing the Bluetooth forget.” A complaint straight out of any IT helpdesk log—who knew space missions had so much in common with office cubicles?
Commander Reid Wiseman, also aboard the Artemis II mission, chimed in with a dilemma familiar to countless office workers: “I have two Microsoft Outlooks, and neither one of them is functioning.” So much for the lofty aspirations of “one small step for man…”
These relatable tech troubles sparked a flurry of online commentary, leading to their viral status in April 2026. But beneath the humor lies a sobering reality: our increasing wealth brings a cornucopia of possessions—and with them, a cascade of maintenance issues. More gadgets mean more breakdowns, more software updates, more troubleshooting manuals, and an endless cycle of forgotten passwords. Even the billion-dollar equipment of space missions isn’t immune to the same annoyances we face daily. It’s a curious equalizer of frustration.
Yet, the old grievances remain persistent. The Artemis program continues to grapple with a malfunctioning toilet, reminding us that, despite our technological advancements, age-old nuisances endure. We might now contend with Wi-Fi dead zones, incompatible Bluetooth drivers, and cloud accounts we can’t access due to a simple phone number change, but leaky pipes and dead batteries are still very much with us.
Wealth and Happiness: An Ongoing Debate
This brings us to a question familiar to readers of EconLog: Does increased wealth genuinely lead to greater happiness?
This topic has been a staple of debate on the site since Arnold Kling first tackled it in 2003, suggesting that higher income must correlate with increased happiness, given that people actively seek to earn more. David Henderson introduced a layer of complexity, expressing skepticism about the reliability of cross-country happiness surveys.
Scott Sumner, in reviewing Tyler Cowen’s exploration of economic growth, acknowledged the general finding that wealth and well-being are positively linked. However, he emphasized that this relationship often operates through indirect channels—improved health outcomes, a cleaner environment, reduced violence, and expanded human rights. He argued that pursuing growth should be our default policy approach, even if its direct impact on happiness remains uncertain.
More recently, Bryan Caplan adopted an intriguing stance: he identifies as an economic optimist yet a happiness pessimist. Analyzing the data, he observes significant growth, but he also notes that income appears to exert little influence on happiness levels. His conclusion? We may be materially richer (and should appreciate that), even if survey respondents don’t report feeling significantly happier.
Progress is beneficial, and individuals strive for higher incomes for valid reasons. While astronauts’ complaints illustrate the cognitive burden of modernity, they also shed light on why our happiness gains may not be more pronounced.
Take, for instance, the distribution of these “more-stuff” challenges within a typical household. Parents face a dizzying array of choices among subscription services and wrestle with managing multiple accounts. Fathers, who previously only needed to know how to change oil or fix a leaky faucet, now also find themselves moonlighting as the household IT department—overseeing family passwords and troubleshooting the smart TV. Children, meanwhile, risk being locked out of their education due to forgotten passwords.
These aren’t “skills problems,” as the astronauts’ experiences demonstrate. The NASA crew has a dedicated team of engineers to assist with tech issues, while the rest of us rely on hastily Googled YouTube tutorials.
Our devices are meant to connect and entertain us. I will continue to enjoy syncing my phone with my car stereo and exploring the vast Apple Music library—until something inevitably goes wrong. Are we happier today with our abundance of possessions? I argue that we are better off overall. Yet, as the saying goes, “more money, more problems.”
Featured image, “Illuminated in Orion” from NASA.
