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NBC News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
NASA loses another senior official as tension grows about the agency's future
The director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center announced her resignation Monday, marking yet another high-profile departure as questions loom about the agency's budget and future. Makenzie Lystrup, who has served as director of the center in Maryland since April 2023, will leave the agency on Aug. 1, according to a NASA statement. Goddard oversees a number of key NASA missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the OSIRIS-REx mission that collected samples from an asteroid. Lystrup's resignation comes less than two months after Laurie Leshin stepped down as director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The departures are playing out as NASA and other government agencies contend with significant cuts to funding and personnel, as part of a broader push to shrink the size of the federal workforce. Questions are swirling internally at NASA and on Capitol Hill about how the space agency can accomplish its work with far fewer personnel and why such cuts are moving ahead before Congress has authorized the agency's budget. Meanwhile, more than 2,000 senior-level employees are set to leave NASA as part of an effort to cut the agency's workforce, as was first reported by Politico. Those include people in senior positions of management and individuals with specialized skills, Politico reported, raising concerns about a 'brain drain' at the space agency. Workers at the space agency have until Friday to accept 'deferred resignations,' buyouts or early retirement offers. President Donald Trump's proposed budget for 2026 would slash about 25%, or more than $6 billion, from NASA's budget. The steepest cuts would come out of the agency's space science, Earth science and mission support divisions, according to the budget blueprint. If enacted by Congress, the budget would also phase out NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, which the agency was developing to return astronauts to the moon. In response to the budget blueprint, more than 280 current and former NASA employees signed a letter to Sean Duffy, NASA's interim administrator, stating that the Trump administration's recent policies 'have or threaten to waste public resources, compromise human safety, weaken national security, and undermine the core NASA mission.' The letter, known as the Voyager Declaration, said the changes have caused 'catastrophic impacts' to the agency's workforce, and have 'prioritized political momentum over human safety, scientific advancement, and efficient use of public resources.' Before NASA's prior acting administrator Janet Petro was replaced by Duffy, employees pressed her to explain how the budget cuts and restructuring underway served the best interests of the space agency, according to internal correspondence read by NBC. It's not clear if Lystrup and Leshin's departures are related to the ongoing turmoil at NASA and other government agencies. In NASA's announcement about Leshin's resignation, it said she was stepping down 'for personal reasons.' The agency did not provide a reason for Lystrup's resignation. In an internal email obtained by NBC News, Lystrup said she leaves with 'confidence' in the Goddard's leadership team 'and all of you who will shape the next chapter of this center.' 'I am honored to have been part of this incredible journey with you,' she wrote in the email. 'It has been my privilege.' NASA said Monday that Cynthia Simmons, who currently serves as Goddard's deputy director, will take over as acting center director in August.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Laurie Leshin stepping down as director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Laurie Leshin speaks with former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. | Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA's main center for planetary exploration will soon come under new leadership. Laurie Leshin announced today (May 7) that she'll step down from her role as director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California in June, after more than three years in charge. She'll be replaced by David Gallagher, JPL's current associate director for strategic integration. In an email to JPL employees, which was obtained by Leshin said she intends to focus on re-launching her research program at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which manages JPL for NASA, and also on her family, which is still experiencing the impacts of the Eaton fire. "This event is still deeply impacting my daily life, as I know it is for so many of you," she wrote to JPL staff. Leshin will continue her role as a Caltech faculty member — specifically, Bren Professor of Geochemistry and Planetary Science, according to a JPL statement that was released today. Leshin has seen JPL through a number of high-profile successes during her time in the director's chair. "I am proud of the many things JPL has accomplished over the past three years," Leshin said in the JPL statement. The EMIT, SWOT, Psyche, PREFIRE, Europa Clipper and SPHEREx missions all launched during her tenure, and NISAR, which she also helped oversee, is scheduled to launch next month. 'In addition to the long list of missions that have launched or moved toward launch during that time, we saved Voyager more than once and flew into history on Mars with Ingenuity. We have made more amazing scientific discoveries than I can name, including finding potential ancient Martian biomarkers with Perseverance," she added. "And we've driven the forefront of technology on Earth and in space. I know those achievements will continue under Dave's capable leadership." Related stories: — NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL): Facts & information — Perseverance rover: Everything you need to know — Europa Clipper: A complete guide to NASA's astrobiology mission Gallagher has been at JPL for 36 years and has held numerous positions at the NASA lab. He has served as manager for JPL's Advanced Optical Systems Program Office, for example, as well as deputy director for Astronomy, Physics and Space Technology. "Laurie has made a significant impact on energizing and focusing the lab, guiding it back on track after the Covid-19 pandemic. I wish her great success in this next chapter of her career, and I look forward to a very smooth transition at the lab," Gallagher said in the JPL statement. Leshin described Gallagher as "the right leader at the right time for the Lab" in her message to employees. Near the end of that message, she said that "leading JPL has been the honor of a lifetime."
