Science for Me, But Not for Thee
At 9:30 a.m. EDT on Monday, April 14th, 2025, an all-female “crew” departed Earth for 10 minutes and 21 seconds via a Blue Origin space vehicle, to coast just above the Karman line, before landing safely back on solid ground. The “crew”—consisting of Gayle King, Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerianna Flynn—wore space suits designed by the creative directors of Oscar de la Renta (who, notably, adorned the ladies of Trump’s circle for the Inaugural Balls) and graced the outer sphere in full glam. According to Gayle King, Perry sang a song for the team as they ascended over 60 miles above our planet’s surface, basking in awe of this magnificent system we exist in.
Indeed, space is awe-inspiring! Humans have pushed at the boundaries of our knowledge of the heavens for millennia—it was arguable one of the first areas of, what we consider “science”, in this modern era. Further, space exploration is acutely tied to the American Dream and our sense of national pride. To be a part of humanity’s extended arm into the starry night, gathering what data we can to learn more about the universe, ignites wonder. From the James Webb telescope photos, recent aurora borealis due to solar flares, the 2024 Solar Eclipse, to the Dune movie series, the very idea of space captures imaginations and unites a deeply divided nation. It is no wonder that Lauren Sanchez was speechless as she exited the Blue Origin craft.
But space has not, historically, been a place for women. As of 2021, of the 570 people who had traveled to space, only 65 of them were women—a woman has never set foot on the moon (12 men have). An all-female, NASA spacewalk was rescheduled in 2019, due to only having one female space suit on hand. Physics, engineering, computer science, and astronomy—all areas of study for those interested in making a career out of space—are dominated by men. Though the number of PhDs in Physics earned by women between 1972 and 2017 has increased significantly (up from ~20 to just under 400 in 2017), this pales in comparison to over 1,800 earned by men in 2017. Today, women make up 35% of NASA’s workforce.
Progress in opening the doors of space to women would not be possible without federally funded programs such as the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs or NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP). Both programs provide valuable research opportunities and thus, career paths, to minoritized students who want to become scientists. On a broader level, these programs are essential to increasing the diversity of people solving the world’s biggest problems—and there is a significant pay off for society when we have the best and brightest minds working to expand the boundaries of human knowledge (e.g., Gomez & Bernet, 2019).
These programs are under siege. Beginning on January 20th, 2025, President Trump took his sharpie to executive orders that censored federally funded programs and grants aiming to increase diversity in science, erased government webpages about women who made major scientific discoveries, and terminated existing grants in these areas. In February, the NIH released a list of words that were banned in scientific grant proposals, “women” and “female” were on the list, while “man” and “male” were not. These cuts by Trump and DOGE have ripped the beating heart out of the institution of American science; what was once a bastion of national pride lies bleeding on the ground. America is now poised to lose our place as a global center of progress, and we will lose generations of scientists—particularly women.
I love that Katy Perry read Carl Sagan to prepare for her Blue Origin flight, and I think it’s fun that Sanchez had spunky designer space suits that fit them—hell, I’m even good with the hair and makeup (I probably would have done the same). But to take this flight, in the name of feminism, and stay silent about Trump and DOGE completely dismantling the systems we have in place to create opportunities for women to become astrophysics, astronauts and astronomers is a disservice to the women scientists who made the Blue Origin flight possible. Women should be able to experience the wonder of the cosmos and contribute to our knowledge of the universe without paying $150,000+ for a ticket. Science—and space—is for everyone. To purchase the ticket, experience the wonder of space, and then not Stand Up for Science, sends a very poignant message: science for me, but not for thee.
Gomez, L. E., & Bernet, P. (2019). Diversity improves performance and outcomes. Journal of the National Medical Association, 111(4), 383-392.