Nearly 3,000 people are leaving NASA, and this director is one of them

NASA is witnessing a significant departure as it prepares for a proposed 25% budget reduction under the Trump administration. On Monday, the agency announced that Makenzie Lystrup, the director of the Goddard Space Flight Center, will step down from her role effective August 1. Lystrup has been at the helm of Goddard since April 2023, leading a team of over 8,000 civil servants and contractors, managing an annual budget of approximately $4.7 billion. As the largest of NASA's ten field centers dedicated primarily to scientific exploration and robotic mission development, Goddard's budget and workforce rival those at NASA's human spaceflight centers located in Texas, Florida, and Alabama. The center is responsible for managing groundbreaking projects such as the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes, and is currently assembling the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is scheduled for a launch in the coming year. In a statement, Vanessa Wyche, NASA's acting associate administrator, expressed gratitude for Lystrup’s leadership over the past two years, highlighting her efforts to inspire a new generation of explorers, scientists, and engineers. Cynthia Simmons, who has been with Goddard for 25 years, will step into the role of acting director following Lystrup's departure. Lystrup's exit from Goddard coincides with the release of an open letter addressed to NASA's interim administrator, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, signed by hundreds of current and former employees. This letter, referred to as the 'Voyager Declaration,' criticizes recent policies that the signatories argue jeopardize public resources, human safety, national security, and the fundamental mission of NASA.