--- title: "NASA Just Fired Its Chief Scientist, Won’t Hire Another One" description: "NASA has eliminated key science offices, including the office of the chief scientist, according to an internal email obtained by Axios." date: "2025-03-10" modified: "2025-03-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/nasa-fired-eliminated-chief-scientist" categories: - "Future Society" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "NASA" - "science" --- # NASA Just Fired Its Chief Scientist, Won’t Hire Another One ![NASA has eliminated key science offices, including the office of the chief scientist, according to an internal email obtained by Axios.]() *\Image: Futurism\* NASA has eliminated key science offices — its chief scientist and her office — according to an [internal email obtained by *Axios*](). The news comes less than a week after [*Ars Technica* reported]() that the Trump administration is expected to [slash the space agency's science budget]() by as much as 50 percent, an "extinction-level event for space science and exploration in the United States," as Planetary Society chief of space policy Casey Dreier told the publication. Now that chief scientist Katherine Calvin has been let go, the future of space science in the country is as uncertain as ever. In the email, acting NASA administrator Janet Petro said that the cuts were in response to president Donald Trump's executive orders aimed at slashing budgets across departments. Apart from the office of the chief scientist, the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility branch of NASA's Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity was cut as well, affecting around 20 people, per *Axios*. NASA's office of the chief scientist was created to ensure that the agency's scientific endeavors were "aligned with and fulfill the administration’s science objectives," per the [agency's website](). The latest news could be a harbinger of what's still in store for NASA. Petro said the agency is only beginning its "phased approach to a reduction in force." The agency has already been the target of cuts. Shortly after [reports emerged]() that Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency was cutting over 1,000 NASA employees last month, affected workers [were spared]() as part of a chaotic last-minute decision. Billionaire tech founder — and SpaceX space tourist — Jared Isaacman, who's widely expected to be sworn in as the next NASA administrator, [appears to have been shut out]() of ongoing conversations, [tweeting]() that he was simply a "humble nominee on the outside, hoping for a chance to contribute." Now that key scientific figures are being eliminated, scientists are worried the Trump administration is making irreversible changes that could undercut the agency's core missions. "NASA is small, but it is arguably the most legendary and globally beloved agency in American history," Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics external relations lead Grant Tremblay [tweeted](). "Its gutting has begun, & the cuts to come are so massive that we won't recognize it in a year." "I worry that, absent strong leadership, there is a theory of destruction but no plan for creation," he added in a [followup](). "It's hard to build something great from a pile of ash and rubble. The people you lose will not come back." **More on NASA:** *[Amazing Video Shows Spacecraft Touching Down on Surface of Moon]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()