---
title: "NASA’s Moon Mission Leader Just Quit After Only Six Weeks"
description: "A NASA executive who was appointed only six weeks ago to lead the strategy for future missions to the Moon has resigned."
date: "2019-05-24"
modified: "2019-05-24"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-executive-moon-mission-sirangelo-quit"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Moon"
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "mars"
  - "moon"
  - "NASA"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA’s Moon Mission Leader Just Quit After Only Six Weeks

![A NASA executive who was appointed only six weeks ago to lead the strategy for future missions to the Moon has resigned.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/nasa-executive-moon-mission-sirangelo-quit.png>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Restructuring

A NASA executive who was appointed just six weeks ago to lead the strategy for future missions to the Moon has resigned, [*The Hill* reports](<https://thehill.com/policy/technology/445365-nasa-exec-leading-moon-mission-quits-weeks-after-appointment>).

Mark Sirangelo was hired in April as special assistant to NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. It's a sudden departure that looks especially odd considering the White House's focus on getting Americans back to the Moon — but [Congress's refusal to grant extra funds](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/congress-budget-moon-mission-nasa>) is forcing NASA to re-evaluate the ambitious plans.

## Moon 2024?

The news comes after lawmakers rejected NASA's proposal to establish a team dedicated to devising a sustainable lunar mission and future Mars missions — a rejection, according to Bridenstine, that was partly responsible for Sirangelo's departure.

"We are exploring what organizational changes within HEO \[Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate\] are necessary to ensure we maximize efficiencies and achieve the end state of landing the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024," Bridenstine [said in a statement](<http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=52520>). "Given NASA is no longer pursuing the new mission directorate, Mark has opted to pursue other opportunities."

**READ MORE:** [NASA exec leading moon mission quits weeks after appointment](<https://thehill.com/policy/technology/445365-nasa-exec-leading-moon-mission-quits-weeks-after-appointment>) \[*The Hill*\]

**More on NASA's budget troubles**: [Congress Denies NASA Request for More Moon Mission Money](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/congress-budget-moon-mission-nasa>)

## 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](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)