NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the leading center for robotic exploration of the solar system, is facing a major budget crunch that will force it to lay off about 8% of its staff.
The lab, located near Los Angeles and managed by the California Institute of Technology, announced on Friday (February 6) that it will cut about 530 employees and 40 contractors across various technical and support areas.
The move results from a drastic reduction in the funding for the Mars Sample Return (MSR) project, one of JPL’s flagship missions that aim to bring back rock and soil samples from the Red Planet for the first time.
The MSR project, which involves the Perseverance rover on Mars, is expected to cost between $8 billion and $11 billion if it launches by 2030 as planned. However, some lawmakers have expressed concern over the escalating costs and have slashed the budget for the project.
The Senate has allocated only $300 million for MSR in its fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill, which is 63% less than the amount granted in 2023, according to a letter from JPL Director Laurie Leshin to the lab’s employees.
The fiscal year 2024, which began on October 1, 2023, and will end on September 30, 2024, has yet to be finalized by Congress, but NASA has instructed JPL to plan for the lower budget scenario, Leshin said.
Leshin said JPL had taken several steps to avoid layoffs, such as implementing a hiring freeze, reducing MSR contracts, and cutting spending in other areas. The lab also released some of its on-site contractors earlier this month.
However, she said more than these measures were needed to cope with the budget shortfall.
“These are painful but necessary adjustments that will enable us to adhere to our budget allocation while continuing our important work for NASA and our nation,” Leshin said in a statement.
She added that the lab had to move forward with the layoffs. Otherwise, it would face even deeper cuts later.
“We wish we didn’t need to take this action, but in the absence of an appropriation, we must now protect against even deeper cuts later were we to wait,” she said.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson regretted the JPL layoffs, saying they were hard decisions that would affect the entire NASA family.
He also praised JPL’s work and said that the lab would continue to play a vital role in NASA’s future missions.
In regards to the FY 2024 appropriation, which began on October 1, 2023, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated that the Senate appropriations committee has approved the lowest level of funding for the project. He emphasized that it would be unwise to exceed this budget without final legislation in place, as it would lead to spending money NASA does not have.
As per SpaceNews, he added that JPL would remain a shining example of America’s leadership in space and continue to play a vital role in upcoming missions.
He said that despite the current challenges, JPL would still help drive key upcoming NASA missions, such as the Europa Clipper mission to explore Jupiter’s icy moon, the NISAR mission to study Earth’s changing climate, and the NEO Surveyor mission to detect and track potentially hazardous asteroids.
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Rizwan Choudhury Rizwan is a writer and journalist with a background in Mass Communication Journalism, Public Administration, and Political Science. He has covered subjects, spanning from technology and culture to business and automotive industries. He has written for publication platforms such as Mashable, Pinkvilla, Economic Times Auto, and PTI. In his free time, he enjoys sketching, reading, and exploring music, movies, and comics.
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