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In response to US President Donald Trump’s directives to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices at federal agencies, NASA has dropped its plans to send the first woman and person of colour on the moon, The Guardian reported.
After President Trump issued executive orders against DEI, NASA scrapped its promise to land the first woman and person of colour on the lunar surface in 2027 via the Artemis program.
Artemis is scheduled to take humans on the moon for the first time since the final Apollo mission in December 1972.
The earlier version of the Artemis page on the NASA website stated, “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 drops plan to land first woman and first person of color on the moon
Promise was central plank to space agency’s Artemis program, which is scheduled to return humans to the lunar surface in 2027 https://t.co/fTTbIatY76
— Paula 🌹 (@volatilerose) March 24, 2025
But in the current version of the page on NASA website, which is live right now, it appears this phrase has been removed in line with President Trump’s directives.
Allard Beutel, a spokesperson of NASA in a statement to The Guardian said, “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.”
Beutel further added, “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 benefit of all.”
After Trump’s executive order, federal agencies like the Internal Revenue Service and National Institutes of Health have taken steps to eliminate policies and funding with regards to DEI.
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The US military also notified a ban on transgender people from service after Trump said there are only two genders – Male and Female.