Nasa is losing four key senior officials close to its flagship moon programme, according to people familiar with the changes, adding more uncertainty over the agency’s space exploration trajectory as Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump play up missions to Mars.
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Jim Free, Nasa’s associate administrator who has been a central voice defending the agency’s Artemis moon programme, is planning to leave the agency by Saturday, two sources said.
And in Huntsville, Alabama, three key officials at Nasa’s Marshall Space Flight Centre – one of the agency’s 10 field centres and the epicentre of its Artemis moon programme – had their retirements announced internally on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the announcement.
Those roles at MSFC – chiefs of procurement, finance and information – were filled in an acting capacity by deputies and other Nasa officials, the source said. No replacement for Free was announced, the two sources said.
Nasa spokespeople did not return requests for comment.
The leadership shake-up adds more uncertainty over Nasa’s direction in space as Musk, the CEO of SpaceX who has long envisioned crewed missions to Mars, oversees a sweeping review of Nasa records as a “special employee” of the Trump administration seeking cuts to staff and programmes.