The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has withdrawn its plan to land the "first woman and person of color on the Moon," one of the key goals of the Artemis program.
This decision is interpreted as a response to the Trump administration's directive to repeal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
The Artemis program, an ambitious project aimed at sending humans back to the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, was launched in 2019 during the first term of the Trump administration.
Recently, however, NASA revised its original goal by removing the statement about landing "the first woman and person of color on the Moon" from its official website.
The Trump administration has emphasized that it will not consider gender and race in personnel and space exploration plans, as part of its move to abolish DEI policies. Consequently, NASA has reconsidered the core goal of the Artemis program, which previously aimed to land women and people of color on the Moon.
Science and technology media outlet Ars Technica noted that this decision is particularly noteworthy, given that the Artemis program itself was initiated during the Trump administration, and the initial plan to include women and people of color was also established during that time.
NASA has made considerable efforts over the decades to overcome its reputation as being "white male-dominated." From 1969 to 1972, all 12 astronauts who landed on the Moon during the Apollo missions were white men.
However, the Artemis II mission still includes female astronaut Christina Koch and African American astronaut Victor Glover, leaving open the possibility that future crewed missions may continue to reflect diversity.
Artemis II is scheduled to launch in April 2026, orbiting the Moon for exploration activities. Following that, Artemis III is slated to launch in 2027, landing at the lunar south pole for further exploration. Through these missions, NASA aims to rewrite the history of human lunar exploration.
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NASA Revises Artemis Goal... Scraps Plan for Woman and Person of Color Moon Landing
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has withdrawn its plan to land the
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