Even is not safe from . The agency announces it is cutting approximately 530 employees from its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California amid budget uncertainty. This represents eight percent of the establishment's workforce. JPL is also laying off around 40 contractors, just weeks after imposing a hiring freeze and . The workers are now informed of their fate.
“After exhausting all other measures to accommodate a lower NASA budget, and in the absence of Congressional appropriations for FY24, we had to make the difficult decision to reduce JPL's workforce through layoffs “, NASA said. spotted by . “The impacts will occur in both the technical and support areas of the laboratory. These are painful but necessary adjustments that will allow us to meet our budget allocation while continuing our important work for NASA and our country.”
Uncertainty over the final budget Congress will allocate to NASA for 2024 has played a major role in these cuts. The agency is expected to receive approximately $300 million for (MSR), an ambitious mission in which NASA plans to and bring back soil. In its 2024 budget proposal, NASA requested just under $950 million for the project.
“While we still do not have an appropriation for FY24 or final say from Congress on our budget allocation for Mars Sample Return (MSR), we are now in a position where we must take action significant additional costs to reduce our expenses,” said Laurie Leshin, director of JPL. wrote in a note. “In the absence of appropriations, and while we wish we didn't have to take this action, we must move forward now to protect against even deeper cuts later if we wait.”
NASA has not yet provided a full cost estimate for the MSR, although an independent report puts the price at between $8 billion and $11 billion. In its 2024 budget proposal, the Senate Appropriations subcommittee directed NASA to submit an annual funding plan for the MSR. If the agency fails to do so, the subcommittee warned the mission could be canceled.
This is even though MSR has been successful so far. The Perseverance rover unearthed soil samples that and would warrant further analysis if NASA were able to return them to Earth. The samples could help scientists learn more about Mars, such as whether the planet ever supported life.