Less than a day after the administration of Donald Trump Federal employees in a diverse, equity and inclusive role, NASA quickly implemented the executive program.

NASA Action Administrator Janet Petro sent a fine To the employees of the agency on Wednesday afternoon, instructing them to close the offices related to diversity, equity, access, and access (deia) of the agency. The decision comes amid NASA’s efforts to increase diversity in its workforce and land the first woman and first man of color on the moon.

In 2023, Nasa is named as one of the best US employers for diversity. NASA began participating in Deia efforts in 2012, adding inclusion as a core value by 2020. By 2021, NASA’s workforce will be comprised of about 35% women and 30% minors. age, according to a report in the NASA office of the Inspector General. A year ago, NASA announced its first equity mobility plan To try to solve long-term diversity and access issues, and to prepare marginalized communities.

The Petro memo, however, indicates a freeze in the programs of various agencies. “These programs divide Americans by race, waste taxpayer dollars, and result in shameful discrimination,” the memo read. The website for NASA’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity Now a “404 not found” error message is displayed.

The memo emphasized that the steps to close NASA’s deia offices were in line with Trump’s executive orders, which followed a template followed by the personnel office.

NASA’s email also includes a warning against a violation of the new order, which suggests that employees of the Space Agency intend to hide contracts under programs of various kinds. “We are aware of the efforts of some in the government to hide these programs by using coded or incorrect language,” read Petro’s Petro. “If you know of a change in any description of the contract or description of the staff from November 5, 2024 to hide the link between the contract and deia or similar ideologies, please report all the facts and circumstances.”

NASA is not the only federal agency affected by the new executive orders; Other agencies, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health, were also forced to end their various diversity programs. The diversity and inclusion efforts of agencies like NASA are important given the lack of diversity in the field.

It wasn’t until 1978 that NASA selected its first diverse class of astronauts, a group that eventually included the first African-American astronauts. The issue goes beyond NASA. Black and Latino students tend to drop out of stem programs at a much higher rate than their white counterparts. About 40% of black and 37% of Latino Stem students transfer majors as undergraduates, compared to 29% of white stem students, According to a 2019 study.

Although NASA lands a diverse group on the surface of the moon, efforts to become more global should not be taken lightly.