NASA TO DROP RACIALLY CHARGED NICKNAMES.

NASA announced Monday that it will begin renaming existing planets, galaxies and “cosmic objects” whose names may cause hurt, in the wake of the protests surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a news release, NASA shed light on the process after which planets and nebulae are named by scientists, but said that amid increased awareness of systemic racism around the world, they will now work on identifying discrimination within their own organization. To start, they are acknowledging the harm that certain nicknames can cause.

“NASA is examining its use of unofficial terminology for cosmic objects as part of its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” the release said. “As an initial step, NASA will no longer refer to planetary nebula NGC 2392, the glowing remains of a Sun-like star that is blowing off its outer layer at the end of its life, as the ‘Eskimo Nebula.’”

The term Eskimo, associated with Indigenous communities of the Arctic, is steeped in racism, and NASA noted that most official documents no longer use it. A pair of galaxies called the Siamese Twins Galaxy will also be renamed, the space group said. Conjoined twins are often referred to as “Siamese” twins after Chang and Eng Bunker, conjoined twins from Siam (now Thailand) who travelled the U.S. in the late 1800s.

“Science is for everyone and every facet of our work needs to reflect that value,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’S Science Mission Directorate.