\n<\/p>\n
In a disheartening turn of events, NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has announced that it\u2019s laying off about 8% of its workforce. That means that about 530 JPL employees will be let go, along with about 40 employees of the Lab\u2019s contractors. That sucks for the people being let go, but the bigger concern for the rest of us is what will happen to upcoming missions like Mars Sample Return (MSR)?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n These layoffs have nothing to do with the individuals affected or with JPL\u2019s activities. It\u2019s all budget wrangling, something that is a near-constant in a democracy. There\u2019s only so much money, and there\u2019s always an excess of things to spend it on.<\/p>\n In this case, NASA has passed on funding constraints to JPL, and while JPL has tried to manage them, the result is this announcement. <\/p>\n \u201cAfter exhausting all other measures to adjust to a lower budget from NASA, and in the absence of an FY24 appropriation from Congress, we have had to make the difficult decision to reduce the JPL workforce through layoffs,\u201d a statement from JPL explained. <\/p>\n Without a Fiscal Year 2024 appropriation, there isn\u2019t enough money in NASA\u2019s budget to keep everything going. In fact, NASA and JPL have been waiting for an appropriation of some kind of final word on 2024 funding for the MSR mission but haven\u2019t received any clear indication. JPL has been dealing with the uncertainty by streamlining operations and making changes in the last several months, but now they say their hand is forced.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we still do not have an FY24 appropriation or the final word from Congress on our Mars Sample Return (MSR) budget allocation, we are now in a position where we must take further significant action to reduce our spending, which will result in layoffs of JPL employees and an additional release of contractors,\u201d said JPL\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThese cuts are among the most challenging that we have had to make, even as we have sought to reduce our spending in recent months.\u201d<\/p>\n What will this mean for the Mars Sample Return joint mission with the ESA? What will it mean for the Perseverance Rover, as it actively collects and caches samples on the Martian surface? <\/p>\n It\u2019s nothing new for organizations to face budget constraints and layoffs. But there\u2019s a sense of immediacy with these layoffs. It\u2019s all happening very quickly, and that can be especially concerning in an organization whose activities rely on meticulous and advanced planning involving highly complex systems. It takes years, even decades, to pull a mission like MSR together, and lack of funding consistency makes it all the more difficult. <\/p>\n Universe Today publisher Fraser Cain interviewed Casey Dreier about this issue. Dreier is Chief of Space Policy at The Planetary Society, and their discussion is on YouTube. <\/p>\n \u201cHow do you clean out 8% of your workforce overnight?\u201d<\/p>\n Casey Dreier, The Planetary Society<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n \n\n