The Artemis program, NASA’s highly anticipated plan to get humans back on the Moon, might be changing. For years now, its stated goal has been to “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.” The Artemis website has now scrubbed any mention of women, people of color, and even international partners.
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This change was first reported by the Orlando Sentinel and it spread wildly on social media, with many comments asking rhetorically if space is now a place exclusively for white male Americans. IFLScience contacted NASA to ask if the change in text is actually a change in policy and planning, especially given how diverse the class of Artemis astronauts is. We also asked about what it meant for the international partners.
“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 about the Trump Administration’s plans for our agency and expanding exploration at the Moon and Mars for the benefit of all,” Jimi Russell, Senior Public Affairs Officer at NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, told IFLScience.
It’s not just NASA either. Federal agencies across the US have been dealing with an executive order that wants to stop diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI), a move that has been described as segregationist, as well as violating a federal court order. The National Science Foundation, for example, has stopped grants that were deemed noncompliant with the executive orders for including terms such as “women”, “cultural heritage”, “diverse groups”, “LGBT”, “Black”, “disability”, and many more.
NASA has recently eliminated 23 positions across the Office of the Chief Scientist, the Office of Science, Policy, and Strategy, and the diversity, equity, and inclusion branch within the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity. NASA’s current chief scientist, Katherine Calvin, as well as NASA’s chief technologist, A.C. Charania have been fired. The role of chief scientist, which has existed since the 1980s, was eliminated before, between 2005 and 2011.
The Artemis program has experienced many delays already. In January 2024, Artemis II was delayed to this year. Last December, it was delayed to 2026. That mission will see NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and record-breaking Christina Koch, as well as Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, flying around the Moon but not landing on it. It will not just be the first revisit to our satellite since 1972, but also the furthest humans have traveled in over 50 years. Koch and Glover will also be the first woman and person of color, respectively, to ever travel to deep space.
Artemis III is the mission where a Moon landing is expected to happen. It is now scheduled to take place in mid-2027 but many are skeptical about that date too. The Artemis program has commissioned moon-lander vehicles from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. For Artemis III, that vehicle is SpaceX’s Starship, but due to explosions of the vehicles minutes after launch for the last two flight tests, doubts are growing that these vehicles can deliver astronauts safely to the Moon in just two years’ time.
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Plans might change, and there is a question of what the next NASA administrator will do. The nominee for the position is billionaire Jared Isaacman – awaiting his confirmation, NASA is being run by acting administrator Janet Petro, the first woman to do so. Isaacman has flown to space twice on privately run missions he commanded and each mission had an equal number of men and women.
Source Link: NASA Changes Artemis Promise To “Land The First Woman” On The Moon Following Trump Executive Order
