The last time I wrote about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) together, agency staffers were begging President Donald Trump’s DOGE chairman Elon Musk to ‘clean house’, as insiders revealed the agency squandered millions of taxpayer money on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

Their wish has been granted, and less than 100 days into Trump’s second term.

Janet Petro, the acting director of NASA, announced the move Monday in a memo to staff obtained by USA TODAY, calling it a “phased reduction in force” that is “occurring in advance” of a Thursday deadline for agencies to submit layoff plans to the government’s human resources arm.

The memo did not disclose how many NASA jobs will be cut.

The cuts will close NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy; the Office of the Chief Scientist; and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility branch within the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, the memo said. The agency would also reduce the workforce in the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity.

The mainstream media may decry the axe of the “Chief Scientist,” but that “scientist” was actually a climate advisor.

Real space missions are back on the menu:

The cuts affect about 20 employees at NASA, including Katherine Calvin, the chief scientist and a climate science expert. The last day of work for Dr. Calvin and the other staff members will be April 10.

That could be a harbinger of deeper cuts to NASA’s science missions and a greater emphasis on human spaceflight, especially to Mars. During President Trump’s address to Congress last week, he said, “We are going to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond.”

Change!!!!!

NASA chief scientist Katherine Calvin among 20+ staff laid off under Trump admin

Changes signal potential NASA shift from climate science toward human spaceflight

Military also cutting 90+ studies labeled “climate change crap” by Defense Sec Hegsethhttps://t.co/7bg6DdH17C

— George P (@PrinceGeorgeK) March 11, 2025

The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) branch and another department are also closing.

NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy, meanwhile, was only established in 2021 and serves as the home for the space agency’s chief economist and chief technologist, who provide the administrator “with analytic, strategic, and decisional insights in the form of quick-turn analyses,memos, and reports,” according to its website.

The third NASA office targeted, coordinating the agency’s DEIA efforts, was also the least surprising, as President Donald Trump’s administration has declared it would eliminate such efforts across the government.

What is perhaps most interesting about this news is that this is the agency’s first round of layoffs, and the firings targeted senior leadership.

These are NASA’s first firings since Trump took office, and they have taken a different pattern to those at other federal agencies in the past few weeks.

NASA was spared, for unknown reasons, from the extensive lay-offs of probationary employees — those with little job protection because they have been in their positions for less than two years — seen at other agencies.

The move makes NASA the first agency under the current Trump administration to pre-emptively fire career employees, beginning the required ‘reductions in force’ (RIFs) sooner than many observers had anticipated. It remains unclear whether other agencies might follow NASA’s lead.

Divisions closed include Office of the Chief Scientist; the Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy; and the DEI branch of its Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity.

Reductions in workforce at NASA have begun.

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