Overview

• At least 2,145 senior employees have opted into NASA’s Deferred Resignation Program, representing nearly half of the staffing reductions in the White House’s FY2026 budget proposal.
• Most departing staff held mission-critical roles in science and human spaceflight, with 1,818 from core mission areas and the remainder in support functions like IT and finance.
• Key facilities will lose hundreds of experts, including 311 departures from Kennedy Space Center and 366 from Johnson Space Center.
• The exodus occurs just months before NASA plans a new Moon mission in 2026 and could undermine progress on the Gateway lunar station and Mars Sample Return.
• Although Congress can still revise the FY2026 budget, the early loss of specialized personnel has already eroded agency capacity for future exploration projects.