NASA has instructed its scientific committees to temporarily suspend their activities. This decision follows recent executive orders from the Trump administration that have raised concerns about compliance.
On January 31, NASA sent memos to leaders of various analysis groups that support the agency’s astrophysics and planetary science divisions. The memos specified that these groups need to halt their meetings while NASA reviews whether their work aligns with new regulations.
The pause affects multiple groups, including the Mercury Exploration Assessment Group (MExAG). This group was set to hold its first in-person meeting from February 4-6 at the Applied Physics Lab. Members were excited about gathering physically after only having virtual meetings since the group’s formation in 2020.
“The steering committee is heartbroken that our first in-person meeting was cancelled due to this directive,” said Mallory Kinczyk, a member of the committee.
Despite having over 200 registrants, including participants from Europe and Japan to discuss the BepiColombo mission to Mercury, the meeting is now on hold. It was planned to cover Mercury science and future mission concepts, which were not in conflict with the recent executive orders targeting diversity and climate change.
Other analysis groups are also affected. The Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) had to postpone its community meeting scheduled for late February in Tucson, Arizona. They expressed concern over proceeding without further guidance.
The Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) is similarly pausing its planning for an upcoming meeting, which was also meant to be hybrid. These disruptions seem to be part of a broader trend of confusion surrounding the implementation of the new directives across various scientific agencies.
While some meetings, like NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, still took place, others, including those at the National Science Foundation, were postponed. This inconsistency has left many researchers unsettled.
Navigating these changes has become more complicated for NASA. The agency began to limit funding for programs tied to diversity initiatives, including the Here to Observe (H2O) program, aimed at connecting underrepresented students with NASA missions.
Additionally, some content has vanished from NASA’s website. An article detailing the agency’s 1978 astronaut class, which featured the first female, Black, and Asian-American astronauts, became inaccessible within a few days, raising questions about transparency.
Understanding the implications of these recent executive orders is crucial for the scientific community. The ongoing review process could impact collaborative efforts and NASA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, which are essential for fostering innovation and discovery in space exploration.
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