Even NASA is facing a tough time, starts layoffs following major budget cuts

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has been hit hard by recent federal budget cuts, resulting in the reported layoff of 100 contractors last week.

The funding constraints are now posing a significant threat to NASA’s ambitious Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, as reported by the LA Times.

The JPL director, Laurie Leshin, informed staff that the MSR mission may be limited to a budget of $300 million this year, representing just over a third of the 2023 budget of $822 million and less than a third of the budget requested by the Biden administration.

This substantial reduction in funding adds to the existing challenges faced by the MSR mission, which has already experienced budget uncertainties and growing costs. NASA also had to announce that its manned mission to the moon, Artemis, has been postponed.

In June, concerns were raised as the mission’s costs were escalating rapidly, prompting NASA to reassess its architecture in October after an independent review board deemed the current budget and schedule “unrealistic.”

Last week’s budget cuts further intensified the situation.

Director Leshin acknowledged in an internal email that adjusting to such a significant budget cut in a single year would be painful, and potential layoffs at JPL could have broader impacts beyond the MSR mission.

NASA has instructed JPL to curtail a key project within the MSR mission as a response to the budget constraints.

The MSR mission, a complex collaboration with the European Space Agency, involves collecting samples on Mars using NASA’s Perseverance rover, shooting them into Martian orbit, and later retrieving them for a return to Earth in the early to mid-2030s.

Due to budget restrictions, JPL has imposed a hiring freeze and paused work on the mission’s Capture, Containment, and Retrieval System, designed to retrieve the samples in orbit.

Lawmakers, including Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), expressed dissatisfaction with NASA’s decision to cut funding for the MSR mission before the completion of Congress’s appropriations process.

Schiff emphasized the mission’s importance as NASA’s highest scientific priority and a crucial element of American leadership in space science.

While the MSR mission faces setbacks, lawmakers responsible for NASA’s budget approved the requested $7.91 billion for returning to the Moon, highlighting a divergence in priorities within the space agency’s funding allocations.

(With inputs from agencies)

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