Mass departure of NASA employees threatens long-term space programs

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is facing an unprecedented loss of personnel. More than 2,100 highly qualified employees are leaving the agency amid the downsizing policy initiated by the Donald Trump administration. Most of the dismissed specialists are employed in key areas — scientific research and manned flights.

According to the data provided, layoffs cover all ten regional centers of NASA, the most affected was the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, where 607 people lose their jobs. It is expected that the total reduction in the number of employees may exceed 5,000 people, including administrative, engineering and scientific staff.

Employees who are subject to redundancy are offered various forms of compensation: early retirement, severance payments, and deferred dismissals. However, according to experts, such steps may not be sufficient to compensate for strategic losses. This is not just about reducing the number of employees, but about losing unique specialists who have decades of accumulated experience and expertise.

The financial restructuring of NASA is taking place against the background of the Trump administration's stated priorities — the return of a man to the Moon and the subsequent expedition to Mars. However, the very structure of the new budget calls into question the reality of these tasks. With NASA's overall budget cut of 25 percent, funding for science missions has been cut almost in half, while spending on manned programs has been increased. Moreover, 41 scientific missions are planned to be excluded from the agency's program, which threatens to curtail a number of fundamental research in the field of astrophysics, planetology and Earth observation.

At the same time, on July 4, the law on budget reconciliation was signed, under which about $ 10 billion was allocated to NASA's manned programs. Despite the massive injection of funds, a significant portion of these resources are intended for the implementation of the Artemis program, aimed at landing American astronauts on the moon by the end of the decade.

Experts point to a systemic imbalance in priorities and risks of losing the agency's institutional stability. According to representatives of the scientific community, NASA is losing not only its experience, but also its ability to implement complex missions that require coordinated work of interdisciplinary teams. With downsizing, reduced operational flexibility and strategic management can jeopardize not only current projects, but also the ambitious goals of the United States in the field of deep space exploration.

Observers emphasize that the current reallocation of the NASA budget demonstrates a clear focus on demonstration manned missions with political resonance, to the detriment of basic science. However, without a balanced approach that includes both technological and research components, the US space program risks losing its status as a global leader.