Gizmodo: “NASA is axing at least 23 X accounts run by the agency’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD), citing a need to “strategically reduce” its digital footprint. The move comes in the wake of President Donald Trump’s proposed funding cuts that could kill numerous research programs. NASA operates more than 400 social media accounts, 300 of which belong to SMD. It’s fair to say that’s a bit excessive. The agency believes its effort to consolidate these accounts—which began in 2018—will improve its social media impact through more cohesive messaging. Some followers, such as spaceflight photographer John Kraus, are welcoming the change. Kraus described the consolidation as “long overdue.” But others disagree, arguing that shuttering these accounts will further limit public access and attention to research in Trump’s America. “In my view the core strength of social media is letting individual voices and their quirks find their individual audiences,” Harvard University astronomer Jonathan McDowell tweeted Tuesday, June 10. “Making a bland uniform corporate account to replace individual [NASA] voices is a mistake.” The agency says the public won’t lose access to social media updates about all the affected SMD programs, but their accounts will either be archived, merged into larger, thematic accounts or NASA’s flagship channels, or rebranded to “better align with strategic framework.” The NASA X accounts (formerly Twitter) that have been or are soon to be archived serve as critical outreach platforms for specific research programs, spacecraft, rovers, satellites, and other scientific initiatives. These are just some of the ones being nixed:
- Perseverance Mars rover: @NASAPersevere
- Curiosity Mars rover: @MarsCuriosity
- Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft: @NASAVoyager
- Commercial crew program: @Commercial_Crew
- Exploration ground systems: @NASAGroundSys
- International Space Station research: @ISS_Research
- Space Launch System (SLS): @NASA_SLS
- Orion spacecraft: @NASA_Orion
- Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS): @NASA_TESS
- Goddard Institute for Space Studies: @NASAGISS
A few of these accounts, such as the Curiosity Mars rover’s X page, have millions of followers. “Don’t worry, my mission isn’t going anywhere,” Curiosity’s account assured fans on Monday, but the same can’t be said for all of these programs…”
