{"id":282384,"date":"2025-07-22T11:38:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T11:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/282384\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T11:38:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T11:38:12","slug":"hundreds-of-nasa-workers-rebuke-arbitrary-trump-cuts-in-scathing-letter-nasa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/282384\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of Nasa workers rebuke \u2018arbitrary\u2019 Trump cuts in scathing letter | Nasa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost 300 current and former US Nasa<\/a> employees, including at least four astronauts, have issued a scathing dissent opposing the Trump administration\u2019s sweeping and indiscriminate cuts to the agency, which they say threaten safety, innovation and national security.<\/p>\n

The formal letter<\/a>, titled The Voyager Declaration, is addressed to the acting Nasa administrator<\/a>, Sean Duffy<\/a>, a staunch Trump loyalist appointed on 7 July who is also his transportation secretary. The declaration, which is dedicated to 17 astronauts who have died in past spaceflight incidents, warns of catastrophic consequences if the proposed cuts to science grants, staffing and international missions are implemented.<\/p>\n

\u201cMajor programmatic shifts at Nasa<\/a> must be implemented strategically so that risks are managed carefully,\u201d the letter said. \u201cInstead, the last six months have seen rapid and wasteful changes which have undermined our mission and caused catastrophic impacts on Nasa\u2019s workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are compelled to speak up when our leadership prioritizes political momentum<\/a> over human safety, scientific advancement<\/a>, and efficient use of public resources<\/a>. These cuts are arbitrary and have been enacted in defiance of congressional appropriations law.<\/a> The consequences for the agency and the country alike are dire.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter sounds the alarm over suggested changes to Nasa\u2019s Technical Authority, a system of safety checks and balances established in the wake of the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster that killed seven astronauts. \u201cThe culture of organizational silence promoted at Nasa over the last six months already represents a dangerous turn away from the lessons learned after the Columbia disaster,\u201d the declaration states.<\/p>\n

The declaration has 131 named signatures \u2013 including at least 55 current Nasa employees \u2013 and 156 anonymous signatories. Interim administrator Duffy, a former television host who was appointed after the ousting of a longtime Nasa employee, Janet Petro, is the final step in the chain of Technical Authority command.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s billionaire donor and former ally Elon Musk oversaw the loss of at least 2,600 of Nasa\u2019s 17,000-plus employees, according to Politico<\/a>, before the billionaire businessman stepped back from the so-called \u201cdepartment of government efficiency\u201d (Doge). So far, at least $120m in Nasa grants<\/a> have been terminated, and the White House has proposed slashing a quarter of the agency\u2019s total budget for next year. International missions have been cancelled, and almost half the agency\u2019s science budget could be cut in 2026.<\/p>\n

The signatories said they dissent from the indiscriminate cuts to Nasa research which supports national security by ensuring the US role as a global leader in science and technology. \u201cBasic research in space science, aeronautics, and the stewardship of the Earth<\/a> are inherently governmental functions that cannot and will not be taken up by the private sector,\u201d the letter says.<\/p>\n

The Voyager Declaration, named after the twin Nasa spacecraft that are exploring interstellar space, is only the latest formal dissent against Trump\u2019s unprecedented assault on science and federal agencies.<\/p>\n

In June, at least 300 employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)<\/a> published a declaration calling for the restoration of grants into life-saving treatments that the Trump administration had \u201cdelayed or terminated for political reasons\u201d.<\/p>\n

Earlier in July, 140 workers<\/a> at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were placed on administrative leave after signing a letter highlighting key concerns including a culture of fear at the agency, the cancellation of environmental justice programs and grants, undermining public trust and \u201cignoring scientific consensus to protect polluters\u201d.<\/p>\n

Quick GuideContact us about this storyShow\"\"<\/p>\n

The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.<\/p>\n

If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.<\/p>\n

Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n

If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Select \u2018Secure Messaging\u2019. <\/p>\n

SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post<\/strong><\/p>\n

See our guide at theguardian.com\/tips<\/a>\u00a0for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illustration: Guardian Design \/ Rich Cousins<\/p>\n

Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Almost 300 current and former US Nasa employees, including at least four astronauts, have issued a scathing dissent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3844],"tags":[70,413,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-282384","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-space","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114896693168331499","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}