The Trump administration’s decision to close two vital offices at NASA risks significantly increasing the costs of space exploration and granting Elon Musk more influence over the agency, according to warnings from employees who have been terminated. The offices of technology, policy, and strategy, as well as the office of the chief scientist, provide crucial independent analysis on key investments and strategies for NASA. However, they are set to close amid widespread cuts at the agency.
Employees of these offices argue that the cuts will undermine NASA’s ongoing missions to the moon and Mars and raise questions about conflicts of interest involving Musk. Musk, who is the CEO of SpaceX, also leads a group known as “department of government efficiency” (Doge), which has been responsible for cutting back the federal government under the Trump administration.
The US president has nominated Jared Isaacman, a SpaceX investor and close ally of Musk, to become NASA’s next administrator. With the recent launch of a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft that arrived at the International Space Station, concerns about Musk’s growing power over NASA have intensified.
Nasa acting administrator, Janet Petro, was appointed by Trump in January, and later named Michael Altenhofen, a longtime SpaceX employee, as senior adviser. Petro had a dinner with Musk last year and described it as one of the most fascinating conversations of her entire life. The two shut down offices are considered “extremely critical” by insiders, who fear that officials working for Trump and Musk are causing long-term damage to the agency.
The decision to terminate employees in these offices has been met with anger, as those affected are usually provided with 60 days notice but were instead given 30 days due to Trump’s executive order. SpaceX is NASA’s largest private contractor, and the agency has spent more than $15 billion on contracts with the company. With a further $300 million contract awarded to SpaceX for a mission launch and a $100 million contract to launch a Near-Earth Object surveyor mission, critics have accused the agency of preferential treatment towards Musk’s business empire.
NASA has confirmed the presence of an employee affiliated with Doge within the agency and warned of the unprecedented threat it poses. In response, a NASA spokesperson said that the organization is reducing its workforce in compliance with an executive order and that a broader reorganization plan is underway as part of Trump’s blitz on the federal government.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/18/nasa-cuts-elon-musk-spacex
