NASA workers plan 'Moon Day' protest on July 20 to oppose mass layoffs, budget cuts. 'This year has been an utter nightmare that has not stopped.'

A NASA logo is displayed at the entrance to the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building on June 2, 2025 in Washington, DC.

For NASA, this weekend is special. Sunday marks the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing — humanity's first steps on another world — July 20, 1969. As the only space agency on Earth able to boast such an accomplishment, those at NASA view the date with wide recognition. This year, however, some within NASA will mark the occasion amid what they see as an institution under attack, both from outside and from within.

A group of NASA employees and their supporters in Washington, D.C., will hold a demonstration to protest what they view as detrimental preemptive compliance within space agency leadership to execute potential cuts to science programs and staffing, based on the White House's 2026 budget request, which has not yet been enacted into law.