NEW ORLEANS — NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory last week laid off 100 contractors over potential deep budget cuts to the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program and warned that more layoffs could come.
A JPL spokesperson said on January 7 that the center was firing contractors, making cuts across the board and working on one aspect of MSR, citing “federal budget uncertainty” for fiscal year 2024. He confirmed that he had taken other measures, including suspending theof Los Angeles Times first reported dismissal.
NASA announced in November that it would delay work on the MSR study due to significant differences in the budget proposed in separate House and Senate bills. The House spending bill would fully fund the agency’s $949.3 million request, while the Senate version allocates only $300 million.
NASA is operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR) until February 2nd, which is supposed to fund NASA at 2023 levels, which for the MSR is $822.3 million. Sandra Connelly, NASA’s deputy deputy administrator, told the advisory committee in November that MSR work is needed to avoid a “worst-case scenario” in which spending a few months at 2023 levels only yields $300 million. He said it was necessary to delay the In the Senate bill regarding this program.
“We have been directed by NASA to develop a low-level plan, and we are doing it systematically,” JPL Director Laurie Lesin said in an interview on January 8 during 243. Ta.rd Meetings of the American Astronomical Society are held here. “So the first thing to do is to look at not just where you’re using on-site contractors at MSR, but other locations where JPL contractors can backfill for that as well.”
These contractors are used as “surge capacity” when needed for specific programs, she explained. These contractors were primarily working on her MSR, but in some cases other projects had already been completed, she said.
In addition to layoffs of contractors, JPL has implemented a hiring freeze since September. “We were growing quite a bit because it was so busy,” she said. With several missions such as Psyche, NISAR, and Europa Clipper having launched or nearing completion, “we needed to stem the growth a little bit.”
The termination of the contractor reportedly came as a surprise to those affected.upon reddit, who said they were among those affected, reported receiving an email at the end of January 4th informing them that they were effectively fired immediately and that they would no longer have access to their computers and buildings within an hour. . “It was shocking and lightning fast,” the person said.
Depending on the outcome of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations process, further layoffs could follow, including of JPL employees as well as contractors. “If budget cuts continue, we must also consider difficult decisions regarding the potential layoffs of staff,” JPL said in a statement.
Lessin said layoffs would likely occur if MSR receives funding close to the $300 million in the Senate bill. “I wanted to be transparent with the institute and have said all along that there is a lot of uncertainty. I said there will certainly be layoffs in some parts of the country.”
On the other hand, he said, if Congress fully funds MSR, JPL will “absolutely” bring back laid-off contractors.
In November, several members of California’s congressional delegation sent a letter to NASA saying they were “perplexed” by the agency’s decision to delay MSR research work before the 2024 appropriations process is completed. They warned of impacts including the loss of hundreds of jobs and a delay in the start of a mission to return Perseverance’s cached samples. Some of them sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting at least $822 million for MSR in 2024.
Lesin said other missions led by JPL are progressing well. Europa Clipper, a mission to study Jupiter’s icy and potentially habitable moons, is undergoing system-level tests and on track for an October launch. The Synthetic Aperture Radar Earth Science Mission NISAR, developed jointly with the Indian Space Agency ISRO, is also undergoing final tests ahead of its spring launch.
NASA is also continuing a reassessment of the MSR architecture that began after an independent review board concluded in September that the current approach is behind schedule and significantly over budget estimates. Mr Lessin said the review remained scheduled to be completed by March.
“We are very committed to this high-priority mission, our highest priority for the second consecutive survey in 20 years, and to a balanced program,” she said. “We believe we have a solution that will make that possible.”