The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has come under fire for participating in ongoing efforts to free the federal government and other entities from “systemic discrimination and inequality.”
The agency announced on Wednesday that it would stop using the terms “Eskimo Nebula” and “Siamese Twins Galaxy”. Instead, the agency will refer to the celestial phenomena through its International Astronomical Union designations – NGC 2392, NGC 4567, and NGC 4568.
“‘Eskimo’ is widely regarded as a colonial term with a racist history, imposed on the indigenous peoples of Arctic regions,” NASA said in a statement. “Most official documents have gone out of use.”
The changes are part of a broader ‘commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion.
DC MUSEUM CRITICIZED BY ‘TRANSLATION GRATIFICATION’ AND ‘DECISION MAKING’ ASPECTS ‘WHITE’
“While the scientific community is working to identify and address systemic discrimination and inequality in all aspects of the field, it has become clear that certain cosmic nicknames are not only insensitive but can be actively harmful,” the statement continued. “NASA is exploring its use of unofficial terminology for cosmic objects as part of its commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion.”
Many Twitter users mocked the change. Author Christina Hoff Sommers tweeted: “Dear NASA: Will you also address the following hurtful and insensitive terms: Big Bang Theory, Uranus, black holes, dwarf stars, and dark matter.”
“Who cares @NASA that they would allow this government bureau to do as [sic] left race bays? President Tom Fitton said of Justice.
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NASA’s decision follows a riot over a graph from the National Museum of African American History and Culture that broke the ‘aspects and assumptions of knowledge’ into categories such as “rough individualism” and “history”.
For example, under “future orientation”, the graph is called “delayed gratification” and planning for the future as ideas spread by white culture. It eventually removed the graph, but kept a website alert about microaggressions and other issues.
