Staff Reports
NASA is facing challenges getting astronauts safely back home from the International Space Station, yet here on Earth, it seems to have no problem launching a full-throttle campaign for diversity, equity, and inclusion. According to a recent report, rather than focusing on actual space exploration, the agency is spending its time and resources on promoting ideological initiatives that would make even the most committed activists blush.
The space agency has turned to self-proclaimed “anti-racist” experts to fill the minds of its employees with lectures on their so-called social responsibilities. Along with the obligatory calls for “allyship” with underrepresented groups, NASA is pushing managers to give special promotions based on identity instead of merit. Talk about shooting for the stars, but aiming for a different galaxy altogether.
Timing is everything, and this report just happens to drop during a crucial SpaceX mission where Elon Musk’s team is tasked with retrieving astronauts from the station. A fitting backdrop for John Hart, president of Open the Books, to point out the absurdity of it all. He has rightly articulated that NASA’s lofty mission should not be derailed by the very earthly quagmire of identity politics. Newton’s laws, which govern space travel, clearly don’t care about the latest trends in anti-racism or gender identity lectures.
The agency has taken diversity efforts to a level that would leave many shaking their heads in disbelief. This decade alone, it has shelled out cash for speakers like Ibram X. Kendi, who specializes in cultivating what he considers an “antiracist workplace.” It even hosted Uju Asika to help foster dialogue around these issues at a parenting group. Meanwhile, the only thing astronauts are fostering during long missions is weightlessness and the occasional existential crisis regarding the universe.
NASA may struggle to get astronauts to and from the International Space Station, but here on Earth it has gone all-in on so-called “diversity, equity and inclusion” (#DEI) according to a new report from @open_the_books. https://t.co/UwsV1kxr1T
— New Tolerance Campaign (@New_Tolerance) March 13, 2025
Moreover, the emphasis on transgender issues within the agency has drawn scrutiny, including a memo suggesting employees should express their “authentic selves” at work. While NASA encourages its staff to enlighten themselves on gender transitions, it also instructs them to report any mishaps involving “wrong” names and pronouns to superiors. Apparently, ensuring everyone gets addressed correctly is just as vital as sending rovers to Mars.
The agency’s 2022 DEI strategic plan set managers on a mission of its own: training employees on implicit bias and ensuring that hiring practices reflect the latest in DEIA principles. And just when one thought the spending could not get any more baffling, NASA is dishing out hundreds of thousands of dollars on environmental justice grants, including one to a Colorado State University project aimed at raising awareness of environmental justice inside the U.S. prison system.
Instead of launching into space, NASA seems more focused on orbiting around its political agenda. Open the Books has aptly labeled this obsession with diversity as an “almost comically absurd” derailment of its core mission. With SpaceX waiting to facilitate actual space missions this week, it remains to be seen whether NASA will prioritize rocketry over rhetoric and finally focus on what really matters: safely returning astronauts to their home planet.
