NASA has dropped plans to put the first woman and person of color on the moon seemingly in response to Donald Trump’s battle against diversity, equity and inclusion.
The space agency had deleted the DEI promise from their 2027 Artemis mission statement to keep in line with the President’s executive order.
Allard Beutel, a spokesperson for NASA, told The Guardian: ‘In keeping with the President’s executive order, we’re updating our language regarding plans to send crew to the lunar surface as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign.
‘We look forward to learning more from [and] about the Trump administration’s plans for our agency and expanding exploration at the moon and Mars for the benefits of all.’
Previously on the space agency’s website, the agency promised, ‘NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut on the Moon using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before.’
NASA’s long-standing promise was central to its Artemis program, which hopes to bring humanity back to the moon’s surface in 2027 for the first time since the final Apollo mission in 1972.
NASA did not immediately respond to the DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
The agency’s removal of DEI language comes as other federal agencies equally followed the President’s orders to remove any notions of DEI programs and initiatives.
NASA made a stunning DEI move by seemingly dropping plans to put the first woman and person of color on the moon in the latest response to Donald Trump ‘s battle against diversity, equity and inclusion
Previously on the space agency’s website, they promised, ‘NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut on the Moon using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before’
Allard Beutel, a spokesperson for NASA, told the Guardian: ‘In keeping with the President’s executive order, we’re updating our language regarding plans to send crew to the lunar surface as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign’
Its removal of such progressive goals from the Artemis campaign comes not long after the agency ended its diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs as per the President’s orders.
Staff received an email in late January, just days after Trump’s inauguration on January 20, from acting administrator Janet Petro.
Petro said the space agency would be ‘taking steps to close all agency DEIA offices and end all DEIA-related contracts in accordance with President Trump’s executive orders.’
Trump’s order is titled ‘Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI programs and Preferencing and Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.’
NASA’s email stated that the programs ‘divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination.’
The space agency has spent at least $22.4 million annually on such programs.
Petro, the first woman to lead NASA as its acting administrator, urged staff to report colleagues who have attempted to disguise DEI programs with coded language.
‘There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting this information,’ the email reads. ‘However, failure to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences.’
NASA’s long-standing promise was central to its Artemis program, which hopes to bring humanity back to the moon’s surface in 2027 for the first time since the final Apollo mission in 1972
Janet Petro (pictured), the first woman to lead NASA as acting administrator, said the space agency would be ‘taking steps to close all agency DEIA offices and end all DEIA-related contracts in accordance with President Trump’s executive orders’
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the US federal government’s human resources agency, has also created an email account to collect reports of suspected DEI initiatives.
Kyle Sorensen, a software engineer who has worked for NASA, told the DailyMail.com: ‘I am really happy that they banned these programs.
‘I am even happier that the Trump admin was smart enough to know that the organization would just try to rename themselves.’
Petro, however, appeared not to feel the same about DEI in 2021. Speaking to Engineering News-Record, she detailed how she has been the minority at the Kennedy Space Center.
‘I often found myself either the only female, or only one of a couple. There weren’t many minorities either,’ she said.
‘A big part of this is ensuring an environment where everyone feels included, has a voice and feels safe to express their opinions.
‘I have mentored numerous minorities along their professional journeys, and as director, I am committed to leading Kennedy Space Center to have a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.’
While the acting administrator’s email appeared to criticize the DEI initiatives, the same message was sent to all federal agencies to pass to their employees.
NASA’s email stated that the programs ‘divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination.’ The space agency has spent at least $22.4 million annually on such programs
The Trump administration sent the letter to all heads and acting heads of government agencies just one day after the inauguration on Tuesday January 21, informing them all federal employees in DEI roles must be placed on paid leave by 5pm ET on the Wednesday January 22.
The letter also demanded all public DEI-focused web pages be taken offline, which was around the same time NASA sent the email to staff and removed its DEI website.
The space agency’s page featured a ‘404’ error with the message: ‘The cosmic object you were looking for has disappeared beyond the event horizon.’
An employee shared on X that they ‘had DEI training and it was part of the employee reviews.’
While Nancy Vreils, quality records manager at NASA, shared: ‘DEI has ruined NASA. Innovation is non-existent.’
NASA has engaged in DEI efforts for over a decade, first creating the Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Implementation Plan in 2012.
