4,000 gone: Inside NASA’s brain drain

“This was my dream job. What do I do next?”  

           —Ronald Gamble, Cosmic Origins Program Scientist 

“We’re talking about NASA, maybe the greatest organization that humans have ever devised. Destroying that? Ridiculous. Just ridiculous.” 

           —David Draper, former Deputy Chief Scientist

“If I didn’t have the option to leave for Canada, I’d be so nervous about the uncertainty.” 

           —Danielle Simkus, former OSIRIS-REx Science Team Member

“It’s just slash and burn.” 

           —Michael Garcia, former Program Scientist

 

Roughly 4,000 NASA employees — over 20% of the agency — have left in the past six months. Some were fired or retired early. Many took voluntary buyouts. In all cases, the root cause was the same: orders from on high to prepare for devastating budget cuts

Now, many of NASA’s most experienced workers are gone. This means that they are, for the first time, able to speak out about the brain drain and its impact on the agency. 

What follows are exclusive interviews between The Planetary Society and several ex-NASA scientists, as well as one researcher whose job is currently on the chopping block. Though each of their stories is different, they paint a common picture: one of pointless waste, discarded expertise, and haphazard decisions. They warn of trends that threaten NASA’s global leadership and its plans to return humans to the Moon. They describe a wound that will take generations to heal.

Here is what these scientists told us, in their own words.




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