PRESS

July 21, 2025

NASA Scientists Stand Up for Agency Mission with “Voyager Declaration”

Washington, D.C. — On July 21, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) employees addressed a “Voyager Declaration” to NASA Interim Director Sean Duffy warning that proposed budget cuts and policies will permanently compromise the United States' advances on Earth and in space.

The Declaration lists "seven dissents" identifying the NASA administration budget cuts and management decisions that interfere with the agency's mission. Since 1958, Congress has mandated NASA to “explore the unknown in air and space, innovate for the benefit of humanity, and inspire the world through discovery.” For decades, NASA's mission has captivated Americans, reflecting the nation's drive for innovation and spirit of exploration. Today, on the 56th anniversary of humanity's first step on the Moon, NASA staff have taken a crucial step to safeguard vital contributions to American innovation and exploration.

The NASA signatories of the Voyager Declaration warn that changing the agency's Technical Authority capacities in the interest of budget cuts will come at the expense of safety, the underlying guiding principle of the Agency's work. The Declaration also points to cuts jeopardizing ongoing and Congressionally-funded one-of-a-kind missions (e.g. New Horizons, Chandra, Maven). Scientists are dissenting against policies that could benefit Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who directed the cuts and whose businesses stand to gain lucrative government contracts as NASA's functions are shuttered. 

With the Voyager Declaration, NASA employees join their federal colleagues at the National Institutes of Health (the Bethesda Declaration) and Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA Declaration of Dissent) in directly challenging Trump-appointed administrators to uphold their agency's mission, restore science's foundational role in policy, and cease the systematic dismantling of federal scientific agencies.

In taking a public stance in defense of their work, government employees assume a significant personal and professional risk. In apparent retaliation for their role in the EPA Declaration of Dissent, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin put "The EPA 139" on an extended administrative leave. Despite fears of retaliation, NASA employees are standing up for their agency's mission and for their oath, stating their solidarity with other brave federal employees who stand up for science. 

"NASA is a tangible product of the greatest expression of the American Dream. All of humanity has mused about reaching into the stars and through decades of unified support by presidents, congress, and the American public, we did it. America put the first human on the moon, we showed the world Pluto, we brought photos of the farthest corners of the universe home. Dismantling this American institution is a travesty. No one voted for this. No one voted to willfully give our global dominance in science to other nations in exchange for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy," says Colette Delawalla, founder and Executive Director of Stand Up for Science.  

The non-profit organization Stand Up for Science is hosting the Voyager Declaration and collecting signatures from the public in support. Current supporters include Nobel Laureates, prominent scientists, politicians, activists, patients, and more.

In solidarity with the Voyager Declaration of Dissent, Stand Up for Science urges Congress to maintain its bipartisan support for NASA in the 2026 budget, recognizing the agency's critical leadership in American and global science.

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There are four current NASA employees who are willing to go on record (and additional ones who are willing to speak on conditions of anonymity), available for interview. For security reasons, we have not listed them in this release, but welcome interested parties to contact [email protected].

Colette Delawalla (Stand Up for Science Founder and Executive Director) is available to discuss the impact of this action on the broader effort to save science, call the public to action, and encourage other federal agency employees to do the same.

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About Stand Up for Science: Stand Up for Science is a grassroots Washington, D.C. based 501(c)4 non-profit organization mobilizing the fight for science and democracy. We formed Stand Up for Science within days of executive orders breaking down federal science agencies. Weeks later, on March 7th, our first National Day of Action, we mobilized over 50,000 people at 170+ events across the world in support of science. Stand Up for Science has captured widespread national and international media attention, and federal scientists across multiple agencies (i.e., NIH, EPA and NASA) have chosen Stand Up for Science as the platform for their dissent against this administration. An opinion piece written by our founding leadership team is also available in Nature Human Behavior: “Why we organized ‘Stand Up for Science.’” Contributions to this 501(c)(4) organization are not tax-deductible; if you need to contribute to a 501(c(3), contact us at [email protected]

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