The US space agency NASA has dropped its long-held commitment to send the first woman, the first person of color, and the first non-American astronaut to the Moon as part of its Artemis program. The move comes in response to the Trump administration’s executive directives to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the federal government.
The decision was made public after NASA removed a key sentence from its Artemis website that outlined the agency’s goal to send astronauts from underrepresented groups to the Moon. The sentence, which was once considered a cornerstone of the Artemis program, no longer appears on the website.
A spokesperson for NASA said the agency is updating its language to reflect the current administration’s plans and looks forward to learning more about their vision for space exploration. However, the move has sparked concerns that it may affect who will be selected to crew future missions, including the Artemis III mission set to land astronauts on the Moon in 2027.
The Artemis program was formalized in 2019 with a goal of sending non-white and non-male astronauts to the Moon. To date, NASA has sent more than half of its astronauts from underrepresented groups into space, but this new decision appears to undermine those efforts.
Source: https://eos.org/research-and-developments/nasa-abandons-pledge-to-put-women-astronauts-of-color-on-the-moon