The Trump administration's recent executive orders demanding an end to diversity programs at NASA have sent shockwaves through the space science community, with experts warning that the moves could lead to more accidents in space missions and undermine the values of science. The orders have resulted in NASA suspending funding for diversity and outreach programs, pausing community group meetings, and banning internal employee resource groups for women, queer people, and others.

The administration's actions have also led to the closure of three NASA offices, including the diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) branch of its equal opportunity office, with employees laid off. Remaining NASA staff are hiding symbols of LGBTQIA pride and removing pronouns from their email signatures, while talented scientists who receive federal funding are in fear for their jobs and their children's futures. Many are looking for work outside the federal funding structure or even considering leaving the US altogether.

Experts argue that the promotion of diversity in the sciences is not a matter of window dressing or checkboxes, but an important pillar of critical thought. Greater diversity among scientists leads to better science, and the lack of diverse perspectives can contribute to groupthink and accidents, as seen in the 1986 Challenger disaster. Despite the evidence, the Trump administration's crusade against diversity in sciences has no basis in scientific evidence, according to Julie Rathbun, who works in Cornell University's astronomy department.

NASA's interest in diversity is neither new nor a purely left-wing phenomenon. Inclusion was added as a core NASA value by then-administrator Jim Bridenstine, a Republican and first-term Trump appointee. However, the current administration's actions are veering into a crudely "anti-woke" ethos that has no interest in evidence, reality, or history. Space scientists are finding their own ways to band together and resist, with some committing to promoting diversity as a key value and others taking it upon themselves to support their colleagues through mutual aid funding.

The financial pressures are a real concern for early career scientists, who described embarking on postdoc positions with just a few hundred dollars in the bank, or hearing from colleagues who were told with less than a week's notice that they might not be getting paid that month. The devaluing of outreach work by prospective employers overlooks the human aspect that powers all of science, and the sense of community has also powered the mutual aid initiative, which has spread even beyond the US.

Researchers working outside of federal agencies expressed sympathy for those working within NASA, who have little freedom to challenge executive orders or to stand up to the government, even in self-defense. The partisan nature of these orders has people worried, as they undermine the structures that are especially necessary at the cutting edge of scientific thought. Many see a clear through-line in right-wing attacks on scientific principles, with the attack on DEIA being the same as an attack on vaccines, climate change, and the scientific process as a whole.

In conclusion, the Trump administration's anti-DEI purge at NASA is a threat not only to the agency's diversity and outreach programs but also to the very fabric of scientific progress. As scientists and experts sound the alarm, it remains to be seen how the space science community will respond to this attack on its values and principles.