Keith’s note: this web reel was just posted by CNN from the end of my interview this morning. OK, I have just about run out of ways / platforms to wave my arms and talk about what NASA needs in order to explore the universe. Your turn. “NASA needs a permanent administrator who understands rocket science and knows how all this stuff works and is committed to lead the agency through these troubles to, you know, better times. That isn’t happening. And it’s very frustrating to the 17-18,000 civil servants and several hundred thousand contractors and the people of America. Please Mr. President send us a real NASA Administrator so we can get on with the whole explore the universe thing.”

Keith’s note: Kudos to @exploreplanets – Planetary Society – on what they do WRT FY 2026 budget cuts. But they totally ignore how the rest of us in the space community are impacted – and how we’re responding. They made no mention of:

• NASA Is Rethinking Who Will Run JPL
• Today’s Budget Protest at NASA Headquarters
• Second Budget Cut Rally At NASA Glenn
• Congressional Event: A Science Fair of Canceled Grants
• NASA’s Impending Data Diaspora
• NASA Workforce Depletion Update
• Editorial: Taking Action Against Historical Censorship by USRA
• Space Biology Funding Call To Action
• And so on. United We Stand – Divided We Fall.

Keith’s note: according to a press release (more below): “Stand Up for Science, Cleveland Organizes Rally for NASA Glenn on Anniversary of Moon Landing”:

• Who: Stand Up for Science Cleveland
• What: Rally to Protest Budget Cuts at NASA Glenn
• Where: Willard Park in downtown Cleveland
• When: July 20, 2025, 2-4 PM

Keith’s note: This was written and originally posted here by Mark V. Sykes, Ph.D., J.D. Senior Scientist, Planetary Science Institute: “This statement is my opinion and does not reflect an official position of the Planetary Science Institute.: Institutions are reeling from the spray of executive orders from the White House since late January. Activities in support of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) have been particular targets, with the cancellation of large numbers of research and other grants and contracts and the bizarre purging of material from government websites (including, for a time, information about the airplane that dropped the first atomic bomb, the Enola Gay). (More below)

Keith’s note: I spent several hours at NASA HQ this morning at the protest event. By the time left around 10:00 am there were around 100 people there. Lots of cars honking, cheering, and loads of hand made signs that mostly focused on cuts being made to NASA’s budget – specifically to NASA’s Science activities. The crowd was friendly, courteous, with no trouble makers and minimal evidence of any security. While these events are often limited in their reach anyone inside of NASA HQ or arriving at work saw clear evidence that there are people from GSFC and HQ that are willing to take a public – and loud – stance on this issue. The one Trump sign quickly disappeared with a overall mostly non-partisan focus on cuts to NASA and how Congress might fix that. Kudos to these folks.

Keith’s note: With regard today’s protest event at NASA Headquarters, I simply do not understand why the Planetary Society (and all those other advocacy and industry groups) totally avoided even a mere mention of this event. You would think that some sort of tip of the hat toward active citizen involvement would be worthy of mention. A few weeks ago Planetary Society had a petition that got “20,787 signatures from around the world” and delivered them to some office in Congress. That’s nice – but it is a little weird that they are mounting an effort with non-US signatories when the folks on Capitol Hill only deal with their actual American constituents’ interests. Also, you’d think that the whole notion of a “rising tide lift all boats” or “united we stand, divided we fall” might occur to the Planetary Society folks. Instead they try and paint themselves an anointed savior and then only when it comes to a part of NASA’s budget – not all of it. This budget cut is an issue that affects all corners of the space sector in America – and the impact that this has on all Americans – not just a portion thereof.

Keith’s note: NASA Associate Administrators & Center Directors are told by the Acting Administrator to get more people to quit. Non-compliance by CDs/AAs will lead to their firing. And yes, there will be RIFs. Monday’s protest is a start. So, take Janet Petro’s advice: Embrace The Challenge – show them you won’t take this sitting down. Be safe.

Keith’s note: As noted last week there will be a protest outside of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC from 7:00-11:00 am EDT on Monday, 30 June 2025. Information about the event can be found here. This event has obtained a formal permit from Metro DC Police. The event is endorsed by the Goddard Engineers, Scientists, and Technicians Association (GESTA). But NASA HQ management is not happy about this. This event is not endorsed by and does not represent the views of NASA or any employer doing business with NASA. But you would be wise to be aware of your surroundings and who may be watching you. The employee union is spreading in accurate information by mentioning the word “strike” – which this is not – and no one has ever said it was. Here is what the organizers, NASA employees union, NASA management, and the NASA HQ union says: (More below)

Keith’s note: HQ-NASA-INC sent this out at 3:04 PM edt today about the demonstration at NASA HQ On monday: “NASA Headquarters Team, A demonstration is scheduled to take place outside NASA Headquarters from 7 to 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, June 30. The demonstration is permitted by the Metro DC Police.

Keith’s note: Last week there was a NASA budget cut protest rally at NASA Glenn in Cleveland. (News story). Now there will be a NASA budget protest event at NASA HQ in Washington, DC next Monday from 7-11 am. (this graphic is their official poster). This event has a formal permit with Metro DC Police. Organizers will not prevent or dissuade anyone from entering HQ but will raise awareness about NASA budget cuts. More information here: https://sites.google.com/view/nasa-needs-help. Embrace The Challenge. More below:

“Dear ASGSR (American Society for Gravitational and Space Research) Members and Friends, As you may have heard, the President’s Budget Request (PBR) was recently released and includes severe cuts to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. More specifically, NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division (BPS), which funds a lot of our research, faces a draconian 72% reduction in funds from $87.5M to just $25M. This budget includes only $13M for Physical Sciences research, $4M for Space Biology, and $4M for the CERISS initiative.” More

Keith’s note: I just posted this on Twitter. Some organizations need to get over themselves and shoulder in for the cause and not try a solo savior act. If y’all cannot get together on this then you have no right to expect that anyone else will. “If all you space/science organizations would simply follow and crosspost each other’s stuff there’d be enhanced awareness on everyone’s part WRT science funding legal cases, congressional visits, briefings, etc. No one organization or their associated celebrities is going to save the day or make a diving catch. United we stand … Just sayin’ @ExplorePlanets @AGU @NSS @csf_space @AIAA @AAS_Office @csf_space @aaas @AIP_HQ @SETIInstitute @XploreDeepSpace @WomeninAero @PGSFellowship @owensfellowship @SpaceFrontier @astrosociety @NASA“

Keith’s note: Looks like the folks in Cleveland are taking a stand. There will be a Stop the NASA Budget Cuts Protest on Saturday, 21 June. “Thanks for RSVPing for our protest to stop the NASA budget cuts. NASA Glenn is facing a 40% workforce cut if Trump’s planned FY26 budget goes through, which means 500 career civil servants in the Cleveland area are facing layoffs. We need to show the NASA Glenn staff that we support them and we oppose these cuts!! Please don’t forget to invite your friends, family and colleagues if they’re as ready as you are to stand up and fight back for science this summer and beyond.” They are making Janet Petro’s advice and are going to Embrace The Challenge – of losing their jobs at NASA.

Keith’s note: With every budget crisis NASA fans say that everyone needs to know how little is spent on NASA and how great the Return On Investment is. As soon as the crisis passes NASA dials that back. NASA has no idea who their audience(s) are or how to talk to them as peers. Just pretty pictures and floating astronauts talking to school kids. Another crisis hits and the cycle repeats. This time its existential. Deal with it. Stand up and say something. If you do not then no one else will. Embrace THAT challenge.

Keith’s note: Question to NASAWatch readers: A lot of you give Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro a free pass to do absolutely whatever the White House tells her to do – even if it is to preside over the firing of 1/3 of the work force she leads and cutting out a massive chunk of her agency’s budget. And every week she just tells you to go along with what she says and to “Embrace The Challenge”. And the excuse is that “she is told to do this”. I totally get the whole notion that y’all want to stay employed – at the greatest exploration entity the world has ever assembled. But if everyone at NASA just does what they are told to do – even if it aids in enabling this disaster – then why should others outside of NASA try and keep your budget and your pre-eminent team mates in place? Thoughts? Put them in the comments section.

Keith’s note: The NASA DEI Erasure Squad has been busy. If you search for past LPSC abstracts on DEI, DEIA, diversity etc. you’ll see that they have disappeared and prior meeting agendas have been altered. Try this one from 2022: “Insight’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group“. Its gone. But the Internet Archive has it here. While I have your attention how about this one over at NTRS “Diversity and Inclusion in Spacecraft Science Teams: What Do We Know and What Can We Do About It?” from NASA GSFC that was presented LPSC 2023. Or “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Initiatives on the Mars 2020 Science Team and Implications for NASA Planetary Science Missions“ presented at LPSC 2024. These and many other diversity and inclusion themed abstracts are all still online at a NASA server. And there’s man more abstracts and papers online all over the agency. And they are being archived offline. And they are in the abstract volumes originally created and distributed in printed and PDF formats to tens of thousands of participants. The DOGE Diversity Narcs are not very good at their job. You cannot make this whole topic go away. It just grows back and spreads when you try to do so. Just sayin’

Keith’s note: Yesterday 6 people on the Blue Origin NS-31 flight crossed the Kármán line and entered “space”. More people – some of prominence – now speak of the value of – and the awe encountered in – space. Alas, lots of space folks on social media say that they’re not “astronauts”. I wonder how many space fans would change their mind if they had a chance to do the same thing. Just sayin’. FWIW soon-to-be NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (an astronaut) said this from a more lofty perspective:

Keith’s note: After 6 weeks of chaos most of the space advocacy and industry lobbying community are going along with whatever happens to the NASA and its contractor community. No approval or disapproval. Just BAAAH like sheep. Yes, I am talking about you: Aerospace Industries Association, American Astronautical Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, Commercial Spaceflight Federation, National Space Club, Space For Humanity, Club for the Future, Space Foundation, Space Frontier Foundation, Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, Space Force Association, Women in Aerospace, etc.

Keith’s note: This American Astronomical Society (AAS) call to action should not be a surprise to anyone. Project 2025 made mention of it, actions already taken against NOAA, NSF, NASA, EPA, CDC, NIH show a complete disregard for science. And DOGE has supercharged things. It is only going to get worse with RIFs and wholesale budget slashing. “AAS Alarmed by Rumored Deep Cuts to NASA and National Science Foundation“: