Why NASA fired the female employee it once celebrated and even went on to wipe all her details from its website

In a sweeping move following President Donald Trump's inauguration, NASA removed numerous diversity-focused pages from its website, including a feature story about Rose Ferreira, a former intern who rose from a poverty-stricken childhood in the Caribbean to a full-time role at the agency. According to Space.com, the purge was part of a broader effort to align with new White House directives targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives.Ferreira, 39, learned of the removal while recovering from pneumonia in the hospital. “It did feel like a slap in the face,” she told Space.com. “It feels like everything that I worked for has been taken down little by little.” The article, which detailed her journey from homelessness to a NASA internship at the Goddard Spaceflight Center in 2022, was used by educators in STEM classrooms. Its sudden disappearance left Ferreira devastated. “As soon as I found out, I just cried,” she said.NASA’s actions, directed by acting administrator Janet Petro, included firing employees tied to DEIA efforts, halting pending hires, and scrubbing references to diversity from agency websites. Pages related to the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, women in leadership, indigenous peoples, and environmental justice vanished within days of Trump’s inauguration. Even language on NASA’s Artemis program, which promised to “land the first woman, and first person of color” on the moon, was removed, along with a 2021 graphic novel about a diverse astronaut crew.The purge has created a tense atmosphere at NASA, with employees fearing for their jobs and research funding. “People are feeling a little more protective now,” Ferreira told Space.com, noting a chilling effect on open dialogue. She expressed dismay at the message sent by the removals: “We’re not welcome.” Ferreira emphasized the importance of DEIA initiatives in creating opportunities for people like her. “Some of us work so much harder for the same things,” she said, reflecting on her childhood without running water. “DEI was created so people like me don’t get pushed out, or just kept out.”The removal of her story, since restored, underscores a broader concern, Ferreira told Space.com: “If you’re basically sending out the message, ‘this is how easy it is for us to erase you,’ then what are you doing exactly? You’re just keeping talent out and you’re dehumanizing people at the same time.”