Nelson concerned about NASA layoffs and other changes

WASHINGTON — Former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says he is concerned about some of the recent changes at the agency, such as the firing of its chief scientist.

Speaking on a panel March 29 as part of the Kennedy Center’s “Earth to Space” festival here, Nelson expressed his concerns that the agency’s work on Earth science might be affected by policy changes by the new administration.

“I have to say that the first person that was fired at NASA” in a round of layoffs announced March 10, he said, “was the chief scientist and chief climate officer, and so I think we need to be concerned about that.”

NASA said it was closing the Office of the Chief Scientist as well as its Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Branch of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, affecting 23 employees. That included Kate Calvin, a climate scientist who has been NASA’s chief scientist since 2022.

Many scientists are concerned that the agency’s Earth science programs could be targeted for major cuts in the upcoming fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, which by some reports could slash NASA’s overall science programs by as much as 50%. Nelson, on the panel, emphasized his belief in the importance of Earth science at NASA.

“Is it important to us that we know so that we can be better stewards of what we have on this extraordinary planet?” Nelson asked. “I think this is where politics starts to get in the way.”

In an interview after the panel, Nelson noted that despite the concerns about the agency’s Earth science work, NASA has so far been spared sharper cuts, like widespread layoffs of “probationary” civil servants, seen elsewhere in the government.

“Now I take the long view,” he said. “I think compared to other agencies, NASA is not getting it nearly as bad.”

He praised Janet Petro, NASA’s acting administrator, for efforts to stave off bigger cuts and other changes. “I do understand that Janet is trying to hold them off on some things,” he said, allowing NASA to move ahead with the Artemis 2 mission scheduled for launch in about a year. He added, though, that some people still at the agency he talked with recently are concerned and “fearful” of potential future changes, like a future round of layoffs.

Nelson, though, did note concerns about “political interference,” citing comments made by NASA’s current press secretary, Bethany Stevens, in a recent Fox News interview. In that interview, Stevens, a political appointee, discussed the return of the Crew-9 mission that brought back Starliner astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who had been on the station since June.

“This is a huge win for the Trump administration, and it would not have happened without President Trump’s intervention,” she claimed. However, the decision to return Williams and Wilmore on the Crew-9 mission was made by NASA in August 2024, before Donald Trump won election to a second term.

“Of course, none of that is the case,” Nelson said of those comments in the interview. “I had the responsibility of making the final decision. It was an easy decision because NASA was entirely unanimous.”

Nelson also said he was unaware of any proposal that Elon Musk made to bring Williams and Wilmore back earlier. The SpaceX chief executive, also a closer adviser to President Trump, has stated several times that he proposed to the Biden administration an earlier return for the two astronauts only to be rejected. Musk, though, has not provided any details about that proposal or who in the White House rejected it.

“The White House, if they had been contacted, they would have contacted me,” Nelson said. “None of that occurred.”