Cheers erupted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California as NASA’s latest craft, the InSight Lander, successfully touched down on the red planet. InSight’s journey took more than six months and spanned 300 million miles. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a good enough reason to celebrate for some social media users monitoring the event.
After seeing live footage from JPL’s control room showing scientists and engineers carefully watching, analyzing and reporting on data sent from the lander and its nanospacecraft companions (Mars Cube One), a few Twitter users pointed out how there was a “lack of diversity” at the space agency:
@NASA you reached Mars but still can’t hire people of color? Didn’t you see Hidden Figures? The lack of diversity is shameful. #MarsLanding pic.twitter.com/7k4yXuKCC5
— molly d ▪️ (@voodooochilddd) November 26, 2018
“@NASA we have a diversity problem” pic.twitter.com/cATSw1vVz2
— Toke Nygaard (@tokenygaard) November 26, 2018
Dang looking at JPL room are there any black people. #cali #pasadena @NASA#MarsLanding
— kay (@karicha6376) November 26, 2018
Good job but the room was not diverse enough black or latino. Please work on that Thank you
— kay (@karicha6376) November 26, 2018
Y’all couldn’t have not one Black face in that room?
Not even the photographer?
WTF? #CNN
— chandler windham (@chandlerwindham) November 26, 2018
Image Credit: Manchikoni